Reaper Cinematic

[Florio Bessinger]

Whilewatching Legend of the Red Reaper, I couldn't help but think of "Jessi," a remarkable young woman full of life and love whose life was cut far too short because of alcohol-fueled rage, cowardice, and impulsivity for which there can be no justification. Aella (Cardinal) is the embodiment of the kind of superhero this world truly needs, an empowered woman with strength and beauty and power and sacrifice and a willingness to do everything within her power to avenge those who have innocently been hurt and to protect others from ever getting hurt.

Every frame of this six-year in the making film screams out passion - passion for life, passion for love, passion for justice, and passion for a world both deeply intimate and universal in its presentation.

Cardinal, the writer/director and lead actress in the film, chatted with The Independent Critic a good 3-4 years ago when Legend of the Red Reaper was in process but in some ways still more a dream than a reality. Even then, it was abundantly clear that Legend of the Red Reaper represented a universal truth which Cardinal fully intended to claim for herself and those for whom she cares about. Amidst the film's fierce yet convincing fight scenes and ample moments of comic book-tinged blood and angst, there is a mighty thread of love and hope and commitment that not only flows through the film but breathes life into it.

This in itself, of course, is not a huge deal. Films are, after all, turned down every day and often for the flimsiest of reasons. In a documented e-mail the fine folks over at The Mary Sue reported that the Legendary rep cited a confusing story, lack of a big star/director, and an "oversaturation of fantasy." Then, the kicker. They didn't think America was quite ready for another female action hero after the failure of Sucker Punch.

There may be some truth to the idea that Cardinal's commitment to a weaving together of action/fantasy, comic book elements, a medieval aura, and an unabashedly feminist message could be an interesting sell to the American public.

The film centers around Cardinal's Aella, a half-human/half-demon creature known as one of the Reapers, the guardians of humanity whose existence is both fierce and sacred. Already prone to fits of rage, Aella's particularly traumatic childhood has left her even more vulnerable to an imbalance. As a child, Aella was given away by her mother The Teller Witch (Eliza Swenson) to Ganesh (Ray Eddy) in exchange for a vial of his blood that would grant her eternal youth. Despite her greatest efforts, Aella is unable to erase the memories of this betrayal and Ganesh's slaughtering of her entire village. Seen as wreckless with her rage, Aella is managed by her master, Kreios (Cal Simmons). She also longs for the heart of Eris (David Mackey), though since he is full human she knows this is not to be and he is pledged to Indira (Christina Daoust). When she is led into an ambush by an ally of Ganesh (James Michael Gibson), she's left for dead only to be rescued by, of all people, her mother. Suddenly, long held life mysteries become clearer as does the mission upon which she must embark for herself and for her people.

One need only observe Tara Cardinal's kick-ass yet emotionally resonant performance as Aella to fully realize just how much of a passion project this is for the actress. Having established a solid name for herself in indie action, horror and even the B-movie realm, Cardinal has seemingly leveraged everything she is, everything she has, and everyone she knows to make sure that Legend of the Red Reaper became the film she envisioned.

While Cardinal has always been known as a talented action star/actress (trust me, that's rare!), as Aella she has a groundedness that makes her performance transcendent to behold. She's strong yet vulnerable. She's vengeful yet loving. She's powerful yet gentle.

Cardinal's supporting cast is strong as well and they're all clearly on the same page as Cardinal in terms of weaving together the film's mythical elements into an almost comic book/graphic novel style structure. David Mackey, as Eris, exhibits a nice chemistry with Cardinal while Christina Daoust, Ray Eddy, Christian Boeving, and Cal Simmons really shine in supporting roles.

One good sign of a clear cinematic vision is when dialogue meets acting meets production design meets original music and they all blend themselves together into one cohesive unit. Such is the case with Legend of the Red Reaper, with production quality far better than one usually expects from a modestly budgeted indie project.

Perhaps the highest compliment one can give to Legend of the Red Reaper is that with the film Cardinal has accomplished her core vision of telling an epic, action-packed tale with a message that is emotionally resonant, empowering, exhilarating, and sure to please the indie fest circuit that is so often thirsting for uniquely told action/fantasy stories devoid of the usual cliche's and exploitative scenery. While the action is plentiful in this film, it empowers rather than exploits. Cardinal, who does her own stunts including swordplay for the film, is a convincing action star not because she gives off this Russian dominatrix vibe but because she's a human being with one kick-ass gleam in her eye.

Legend of the Red Reaper, as noted, has its world premiere on 8/31 at the Central Florida Film Festival and will no doubt see its festival successes continue after that opening date. For more information on the film, check out its always delightful Facebook page.

When motion pictures first appeared, it was a trick of the light, persistence of human vision at 24 images per second creating the illusion of movement. Adding music, audible dialogue, and color along with refinements of scope and scale, it pushed the envelope of possibility while creating the cinematic experience adapted from the theatrical stage. Unfortunately, many of the films of yesteryear are in a state of decay or have already been lost in spite of efforts to procure, preserve, and digitize past works.

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So, we are back to recent events, where Finny and Doll fight over Snake, each one claiming the other is the enemy. Both parties are involved in deception; he wonders why they helped him but lied the entire time. Out of the circus troupe, he seems to have been closest to Doll, and she never told him the truth about the circus. He also becomes particularly close to Finny, who immediately likes his snakes, but Finny doesn't inform him about the true fates of his circus friends. Then there're our earl and Sebastian, who lead him to believe the circus members are still alive and just on the lamb.

Doll comes over to offer Snake food, but he still isn't ready to talk. Jumbo gets the idea to ask what the snakes are saying, though idk how any of them would know (yet) that Snake and his snakes communicate. That gets Snake's attention, though. He definitely must be hungry, but he would want to make sure the snakes are also well fed.

Snake has become what has been in the making for some time now: a necessary martyr. It is impossible to imagine the stalemate of the plot moving without him getting attacked - and since he did, now, cross this line, two things can happen. He either survives, or he does not.

It is possible that he survives: Finnian is strong enough to carry him and assist him, and the facility seems to have enough access to medical devices. While the question of operating these devices is left unanswered, there's at least some hope for Snake to make it out alive. That is, if he even can get Snake to a safe enough place without being attacked. Were he to manage surviving, there's no more coming back to anyhow peaceful relationship with Doll for him - and all the more reasons to stick to Ciel who, while questionable in his morals, remains a safer option for Snake.

As for Doll, it is near impossible to feel any sort of compassion for this character. If not for Snake's sacrifice, a child would be attacked and brutally killed. It feels as if this was the final breakdown for Doll's character, one, perhaps, shining some light on how she has always been. The events of the chapter made us reconsider if she was ever a victim of circumstance - such as Snake - or if this ruthlessness regardless of the target was always her character trait.

We have to keep in mind that Doll, before she died, was very reluctant to kidnap children, and this was shown during a segment where the distraction they were mounting almost failed. I think Book of Circus might make it more apparent, but it's at least hinted at in the manga, too.

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