Back in 2018,Nicolas Cagecalled the then-in-productionPrisoners of the Ghostland"the wildest movie I’ve ever made," atall proclamationconsidering every single second of Nicolas Cage’s existence since 1982. You almost had to believe it though, considering the film is the first collaboration between Cage and filmmakerSion Sono—the controversial madman-genius behind flicks likeLove ExposureandSuicide Club—and boasts a premise that sees a leather-clad Cage traversing a hauntedMad Maxwasteland with bombs strapped to his nards. The finished product, which just debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, is, in fact, very wild, but boiling it down tojustanother entry for Best Cage Freakout Youtube compilations does a disservice to this gorgeous, gonzo genre mashup.Prisoners of the Ghostlandeventually buckles under the weight of its own madcap ambitions, and anyone hoping to understand what the hell is happening at any given moment might be disappointed, but if you give yourself over to this thing, it’s a neon-lit ride worth taking.
Again, a simple synopsis on a film like this feels foolhardy, but here’s a shot: Cage stars as Hero, a loner with a violent past being held prisoner in the post-apocalyptic villa of Samurai Town, where Spaghetti Western saloons crash up against 12th century Japan aesthetics for no discernable reason. Hero is offered a chance at freedom by the town governor (B-movie favoriteBill Moseley, delivering to the cheap seats in white suit and blood-red gloves): Venture out beyond the city limits into a ghost-infested wasteland to recover the Governor’s rebellious granddaughter, Bernise (Sofia Boutella, giving her all to a nearly-wordless role), who escaped under cover of darkness. To ensure a timely delivery, the Governor outfits Hero with a customized leather outfit, with explosives conspicuously placed on the neck, arms, and, yes, the testicles.
So you’re almost definitely going to hear about the testicles, because there is a moment inPrisoners of the Ghostlandin which Nicolas Cage screams the word “testicle” with more gusto than a human being should be capable of. But arguably the most surprising thing aboutGhostlandis the fact Cage might be the most subdued part of the movie. Cage’s trademark late-career unhinged ethos is just another piece of the wallpaper for Sono, who packs so much visual inventiveness intoPrisoners of the Ghostland—the rare film he didn’t write himself, the script credited toAaron HendryandReza Sixo Safai—that it feels more like a madman’s playground than a coherent story. Does the gory swordfight in the streets set to Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” serve much of a larger purpose? Not entirely, but it’s so beautifully captured and oddly moving, who cares? (If you answered “I most definitely care,” I definitely do not recommend you watchPrisoners of the Ghostland.)
To be clear, this film is all over the map, and, occasionally, just gleefully off the map’s edges altogether. This is a glimpse into the mind of a filmmaker unburdened by sticking to just one inspiration.Prisoners of the Ghostland’s most basic homages are toSergio Leone’s Westerns, which themselves were directly inspired byAkira Kurosawa’s Samurai epics likeYojimboandIkiru. But dig deeper, and you’ll also find bits ofAlejandro Jodorowsky’s avante-garde acid-westernEl TopoinGhostland’s grimier moments. TheMad Maxinfluence is obvious in everything Hero experiences in the wasteland—shout-out to the spiky shoulder pads and electronic voice modulation of the Rat Man and his Rat Clan—but there’s also a little ofThe Warriorsand a lot ofTerry Gilliamthrown in, especially in the future-dirt design of a massive clock that wasteland prisoners desperately try and hold back in a futile effort to stop time. Sono never wrangles all of these inspirations together—did I mention the radioactive horror moments that feelThe Hills Have Eyes-ish?—but there’s also no sense that hewantsto.
If that all sounds overwhelming, that’s becausePrisoners of the Ghostlandis, in fact, overwhelming. I expect this movie to divide audiences down the exact same line asMandy, a situation where someone might be looking for an insane Nicolas Cage movie but finding instead an insane movie that happens to feature Nicolas Cage. The weirdness of this movie is the point, and while you will feel lost navigating its story, there is some truly staggering imagery to stop and gawk at along the way.
For more of our Sundance 2021 reviews, check out the links below:
