User Reviews

The title of this curious melodrama that is distinguished by strong visual sequences is somewhat delusive as the sole items being quested after are a treasure in lost North American Indian gold and, additionally, several links with the past, primarily those sought by three long-time friends who are reuniting by means of a trek into a forested region adjacent to their former home town in Quebec. This is Ar'Lei, where the three, Mark, Paul, and Steve meet, a community that has achieved some renown due to a persistent legend that an ancient tribe, the (imaginary) "Meshabi", had secreted vast amounts of gold in deep woods before being liquidated by Canadian settlers, and as the young men move deeper into a wooded fastness, they each sense an inexplicable force surrounding them, as stated in cinematic terms with a voice-over supplied by Mark, a French Canadian who has not moved away from the region as have his two companions. In the meantime, a self-proclaimed "professor of archaeology at the university", Jack, through a guise of seeking Native American artifacts, has hired two local men as guides to assist him in an effort to find the mythic treasure, said to be hidden for over 100 years, this after Jack has spent a brief period in wooing a local waitress of Indian ancestry, their budding relationship thwarted more by scenario vagueness rather than from a lack of libido. While Jack and his guides are striding through the forest, the three reunited comrades come upon a collection of tribal relics tended by the visible spirit of one John Raven, a long dead Meshabi who, as it turns out, tests the agreeing trio with a task of intense physical labour, at issue a possibility of Indian spirit absolution for long ago White Man transgressions....and then avaricious Jack happens upon the scene. This is apparently the lone feature film credit for most of those involved and, as with many first efforts, there are too many plot threads to be efficiently handled, leaving a viewer to deal with more unanswered questions than is comfortable; however, with a meagre budget, a good deal has been accomplished with suspense nicely developed, the inventive cinematography of Daniel Villeneuve is of a high order, including effective utilization of montage, editing is skillful, and the young players, some of whom also contribute to the production's music, are ably paced by director Denis Paquet. Visuals upon a fully framed Blue Laser DVD release feature excellent colour for this work filmed near Le Gardeau in Quebec, employing 16mm. stock; however, periods of distortion are to be noted with the audio transfer. There are no extra features offered with the disc, upon the cover of which is unrealistically stated "a suspense thriller based upon a true story". At the end of the final credits listing are shown the entire closing credits for another picture entirely, BLOOD AND THUNDER (2000). As irrelevant as this may be, it is not more so than would be dour criticism of a sincere effort that might have been more pleasurable if a reasonable number of plot strings were in place.