"Manitou" -Maria's Take

Um, what?

In my very first blog post I asked what went on in the mind of Tommy Wiseau. I think the final fifteen minutes of this movie answered my question. I do feel like this movie was slightly less awful for me because I knew what to expect. The best way to see "Manitou" is purely; free of any prior knowledge. So, if that is what you intend to do stop reading here.

For the rest of you, this movie is really bizarre. It starts off mundane enough. A woman goes to the doctor with a fetus growing out of her back. (You know, that cliche story). Actually, that I can buy. That part is actually neat, make a movie about a woman carrying a baby on her back. But this movie gets weird, and kind of racist (and by "kind of" I mean "really, really racist"). Tony Curtis is her tarot-card reading ex-boyfriend who comes to her rescue after it has been decided she is actually carrying the reincarnation of an Indian medicine man (whose spirit is called a "manitou") who is fairly intent on killing her and everyone she comes into contact with. Again, I am still not against this movie yet, is it a weird ripoff of "The Exorcist?" Yes, but still, kind of interesting. Tony Curtis brings on another medicine man to counter the fetus one. Then they go into outer space. Yup, you read that right. That's when they lost me.

Did that synopsis confuse you? Don't worry, the movie makes absolutely no sense. Even the little mundane details don't make sense. Burgess Meredith plays this quack anthropologist who initially believes Tony Curtis to be completely nuts but almost instantaneously comes around without any reason. The only way to protect everyone from the "manitou" is to draw a circle around it with sand, but he figures out a way to break through. And lest we forget they fight in space? SPACE!

The ending really bugs me. In college we talked about how horror and sci-fi movies reflect what society is afraid of at the time. This movie is not only representing this weird sort of xenophobia, but also employing the greatness and cure-all of technology. The heroes use computers (who apparently have their own versions of a "Manitou") to override the fetus-Manitou-medicine man and win the soul of the girl back.

I apologize if it sounds like I am rambling, but this movie is so incoherent even trying to explain it becomes confusing. I cannot believe this movie was ever made. It is just a failure on all accounts. It switches tone between dead serious and tongue in cheek in nearly every scene. The acting is fine, but the storyline is so confusing and messy that characters' motives lose any sense of intent.

I feel like the producers had a big idea that just crumbled all around them, and they just gave up about ten minutes in. Burgess Meredith's role was irritating because his lines were completely contradictory and overacted. Tony Curtis was the only actor giving a decent performance, but I cannot begin to believe this is a film he would be proud of.

The music, color scheme, and overall feel of this movie was at odds with itself. It could not decide what it wanted to be, so it became a brown mess of 70s haircuts, polyester and subtle racism.

I was confused, irritated and boggled. I was relieved when it was over. I don't understand how this film got financed, or how it attracted a fairly prestigious group of actors. The setting in San Francisco was a needless expense that the filmmaker relied far too heavily on. Instead, he could have used that money to buy a script with a shred of coherent story structure.

Long story short, I did not understand this movie at all. I could try and analyze it as some reflection of the social conflict of new versus old, modern versus ancient, or some other academic bullshit, but it does not matter. The movie was just bad. It hurt to watch. It was an absolutely perfect recommendation for this blog. Thank you, Mr. Marzagalli.