Decapolis II

Starring:Brian Evan; Sharon Thomas; Joy Frasca; Kim Ostrenko
Director: George Cotayo; Charles Cotayo
Studio: Quest Horizon Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

The Resurrection of a Lost American Treasure

Decapolis II
Starring: Brian Evan; Sharon Thomas; Joy Frasca; Kim Ostrenko
Director: George Cotayo; Charles Cotayo
Manufacturer: Quest Horizon Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009AVYVK
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Customer Reviews:

The Resurrection of a Lost American Treasure.......2005-04-18

"Decapolis II" is one of those highly UNUSUAL movies that most people have not seen because of its limited theatrical release in the late 1980s, when the major studios did not make or distribute this type of ecclectic, psycho-satirical drama.

It's one of the pioneer films of the new wave of indie films (way before the digital explosion) about a psychologically perturbed young man who becomes obsessed with his parents' divorce and remarriages. The mother is white and remarries a black man. The father is Hispanic and remarries a Latina. What ensues is a fusion of realism and fantasy in its exploration of the social mores and taboos of the era.

The main character, Jonathan David Garcia, is convinced that his stepparents are only interested in his family's money, while a much younger sister pretends to be content with the situation. The effects of divorce on children has never been more uniquely dramatized on film.

Part of the movie was shot in black and white and the rest in color. But there is meaning to this as you will see. "Decapolis II" is very surrealistic and WAY ahead of its time! The movie was made on a very low budget with a cast of unknown actors, but the acting is surprisingly good and the photography is beautiful. (The theme song "A Perfect Night For Killing" is probably one of the best unknown rock tunes of the 1980s and was sung by the director when a vocalist who had agreed to sing it changed her mind at the last minute.) The young evangelist who tries to convert Jonathan to Christianity is presented as a "human doll" of sorts and is one of the ingenious (and politically "incorrect") details of the picture...of which there are many: the bust of Michelangelo's David with a "Hitleresque" moustache, the Ronald Reagan mask, and the lightning-shaped scar (and this movie was made years BEFORE Harry Potter was even conceived!!!)

"Decapolis II" was rated R by the MPAA due to a full frontal nude shot of the leading actor during a suicide attempt while taking a bath. The influence of many of the world's greatest filmmakers is very evident throughout: each sequence could be a homage to a famous director such as Bunuel, Fellini, Cocteau, Godard, Polanski, Lumet. The soft-focus perspective of the mother when she is confronting Jonathan about smoking dope is a brilliant touch. The movie is dedicated to Francois Truffaut in the end credits.

The use of the "n-word" to "insult" the African-American stepfather was quite controversial then and continues to be so, but it is not gratuitous. It's an expression of the prevailing racial prejudices of the period, because the stepfather is presented as (and is) a good man! The final dream sequence is simply beautiful. An amazing, very original "lost" film that's finally available on DVD. Now it will find the audience it deserves!

This is another example of the fact that you don't need a huge budget to create a feature-length film or a work of cinematic art if you know what you're doing and have the freedom to be daring. It's bizarre, subversive, and powerful in a subtle and sublime way. What's interesting is that so many films that came out much, much later seem to be an offspring of this little masterwork. Absolutely deserves to be seen!

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