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Black Pearl Review
Image Credit: Indican Pictures
Loading...Black Pearl Review
Julian Perez– Kurupi
Raul Gasteazoro– Ergo
Edgar Feliciano– Maitreya
Russ Russo– Fari
Loukas Papas– Tukten
Lilly Husbands– Lana
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Raul Gasteazoro and Giovanni Messner
Screenplay by Raul Gasteazoro
Distributed by Vantage Media
Not Rated
Runtime– 81 minutes
Rent Black Pearl here
Black Pearl, also known as 10,000 A.D.: The Legend of a Black Pearl and currently available to rent on Amazon Prime under the Black Pearl title, is one of the most inventive mega low-budget post-apocalyptic movies I’ve ever seen. Co-directed by Raul Gasteazoro and Giovanni Messner, the movie is chock full of philosophical what have you, action galore, and plenty of heart and integrity. Do I fully understand it? Not really, but it is a movie that will definitely make an impression on you and make you think.
Black Pearl takes place in a future world where, after a massive global conflict essentially destroys everything (there’s a montage of human violence at the very beginning of the movie), humanity regresses into a series of almost primitive tribes. Modern civilization and technology are long gone, with survivors relying on their tribal identities to continue existing. The two main tribes are the Huron and the Plaebian. The Hurons are, for the most part, warriors and hunter/gatherers, while the Plaebian are a bit more organized and less war-like. Amongst themselves they’ve developed a sort of religion involving magical stones and a “chosen one” that, when revealed, will find and gather up the stones. Or something like that. There’s also a third tribe, the Sinasu, that is considered the ultimate evil and intends to usher in the full on end of the world and humanity by spreading a relentless plague. The Sinasus are typically seen wearing black monk robes and they kill absolutely everything in sight when they appear. The potential “chosen one” is Kurupi (Julian Perez), a young man that has a hard time accepting that he is, in fact, the “chosen one.” Training Kurupi to achieve his ultimate potential is Ergo (co-director Raul Gasteazoro), one of the last great warriors amongst the tribes.
Now, when it comes to the sacred stones, the chosen one needs to find them all so he can then get the black pearl, the sort of “last magical stone” that will help defeat the Sinasu, the Sinasu plague, and somehow fix what’s left of the world and maybe, one day, allow humanity to grow again. At least I think that’s what’s going on. The mythology created for Black Pearl is elaborate and dense and, at times, confusing as hell. I mean, in one sense, the Black Pearl is all about the “hero’s journey” and it isn’t anything you haven’t already seen, the sort of basic story. But in another sense, I can assure you that you’ve never seen “the hero’s journey” in quite the same way as you see it depicted in Black Pearl.
Black Pearl is chock full of impressive martial arts training sequences and fight scenes. It’s nothing short of amazing to see what the cast and crew manage to pull off on what can best be described as a “mega modest” budget. The assembled martial artists are clearly super talented and know what they’re doing. The fight sequences are easily one of the best parts of the movie. The magical/supernatural aspects of the story are confusing, mostly because you’re never fully sure if you’re supposed to take them seriously or not. Are they actually happening, are we actually seeing magic on display, or is it all part of a dream or some sort of group hallucination? There’s an occasional voiceover attempting to explain what’s happening, and is that voiceover telling the audience a story and embellishing parts of it because we’re being told a story, or are we meant to take absolutely everything we see at face value? I’m not entirely sure. There were times while watching Black Pearl where I thought, yeah, I’m supposed to take all of this seriously and this is all actually happening, and there were times where I thought maybe not. It’s confusing as hell, sure, but it also makes the movie kind of fun. Because, really, what the hell is actually happening here?
The philosophy at the heart of Black Pearl all seems to be about saving the world, fixing what’s broken, but also realizing that humans may not have the capacity to work together to figure out how to do that. It isn’t a cynical philosophy, there is a sense of hope expressed by the characters and there is a hope that “the chosen one” will be able to usher in that renewal that will set humanity and the world back on the right path. At the same time, though, I think there’s a question that runs throughout the movie as to whether or not humanity and the world is worth saving. Should the Sinasu be allowed to run roughshod over everything, bring the plague, which will then allow nature to reset itself on its own time? I don’t think the movie is advocating for that at all, but it does present that question to the audience. What are you for? What do you think is most prudent? Why is the world worth saving?
The acting throughout is surprisingly good considering none of the actors are professionals. They all have to deliver dense, super serious dialogue that can be hard to decipher (there were several instances in the movie where I had no idea what the hell anyone was talking about), but they all seem to believe what they’re saying is actual language and means something, and that helps the audience keep watching. The start of the movie features a language that the audience can only understand through subtitles, and when the characters stop speaking that language and start speaking English, it doesn’t really get any easier to understand what’s being said. I kind of wish that the movie had subtitles for its entire runtime, even when the characters start speaking English.
The look of Black Pearl is phenomenal. From the beach areas that we see, to the mountains, to the dense wooded areas, the various outdoor areas make Black Pearl seem like a much bigger movie than it actually is. These filming locations also make Black Pearl one of the most beautiful movies you’re likely to see. How often can you say that for a mega modest low-budget genre flick?
And the action and fight sequences. I can’t stress enough how amazing these are to witness. If you remember anything about Black Pearl, it will be the fight sequences. How the heck did co-directors Gasteazoro and Messner pull off what they managed to pull off?
Black Pearl is not an easy movie. It’s a hard movie to fully grasp. But you can tell that the people behind Black Pearl sunk their hearts into making it, and that effort is infectious, even if you don’t fully, completely understand what is happening. Black Pearl is a movie that you will remember. It is something that you should experience and try to comprehend. You have never seen anything like Black Pearl.
See Black Pearl. See it, see it, see it. Black Pearl is currently available to rent via Amazon Prime here.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: Lots.
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: Yes.
Doobage: A montage of war and violence. Two guys fighting on a beach. A blonde woman attacks a guy. People running through the woods. Multiple instances of martial arts. Face punching. A choke slam. Serious leg slicing. Neck breaking. A bloody leaf. A blood covered tree branch. Dead body carrying. A necklace. Running in the mountains. Head butting. Antler attack. Fighting at dusk. Serious face punching. Dudes hanging out in a river and then in a lake. A training montage. A woman walks through a forest. A mega palm thrust. A training montage that includes underwater stuff. Flashbacks of fighting. Forest sex. Murder. A full on massacre. Throat cutting. A ghost. Pipe smoking. A pile of dead bodies. Wall climbing. Arguing. More fighting. Attempted arm breaking. A possessed woman. More underwater fighting. Puking up blood. Horn blowing. A gigantic antler weapon. Visions. Talk of another apocalypse. Hair cutting. Even more fighting. Talk of a war.
Kim Richards? None, which I think is surprising.
Gratuitous: Underwater sex. Dead body burning. A conch shell horn. A pipe horn. People suddenly talking in English. Dudes doing push-ups at the beach. Handstands. A woman smelling a flower. “Anger into action.” A deep and scary voice. Sleeping on the edge of a cliff. Meditation. An old guy using a cane and wearing some sort of animal skin. A black and white flashback to when the world ended. Guy in a gas mask. “The Earth is what is important.” Fighting in the rain.
Best lines: “This is our world.” “My kindred. My answer. I love you like water.” “I am going to fight the black teeth.” “Our brothers are dying, Kurupi. We’ve got to do something.” “Do not trust your thoughts or what you think you know. Things are not what they seem. These are ignorant times.” “We have entered the realm of our ancestors.” “How can I fight a foe I cannot find?” “When you make a choice, do it with all of your spirit.” “It is better to make a mistake with the full force of your being than to carefully avoid mistakes with a trembling heart.” “The time for moderation is past.” “We will inherit what their children destroy.” “Plaebians are nothing but trouble!” “That rock speaking to you again?” “Are you Karupi? Then there is hope.” “I have only just awoken.” “When did you become so serious?” “Why didn’t you warn me? It wasn’t your time to be warned.” “I’m sorry I failed you.” “Do you not understand? Where is your vision?” “How do I do it? How do I summon the pearl?” “The end of the world is coming.” “The only way to start over is to do away with what is.” “I won’t do it! I won’t kill the innocent!” “Do you find me off course?” “The Earth will never forgive you. The cancer will spread.” “Have you ever heard the music of your past life?” “This is our world.”
