Awkward Hands Review: Difference between revisions

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The first twenty minutes of the movie are melodramatic and dull, but things pick up when Peter is banished and left for dead in the desert. His life is saved by a mysterious black-clad gunman called Latimore, who tells Peter that he’s looking for four men. The four are waiting for Latimore in a ghost town because they know he won’t ever give up chasing them. After the four are taken care of, Latimore brings the young man to a wise old China man, who tells him there are three types of men in the West: those who kill, those who die and those who run away. Even though Peter’s hands look 'awkward’, the old man turns him into a proficient gunman, ready to carry out a vendetta on those who have humiliated him and ruined his life.  
The first twenty minutes of the movie are melodramatic and dull, but things pick up when Peter is banished and left for dead in the desert. His life is saved by a mysterious black-clad gunman called Latimore, who tells Peter that he’s looking for four men. The four are waiting for Latimore in a ghost town because they know he won’t ever give up chasing them. After the four are taken care of, Latimore brings the young man to a wise old China man, who tells him there are three types of men in the West: those who kill, those who die and those who run away. Even though Peter’s hands look 'awkward’, the old man turns him into a proficient gunman, ready to carry out a vendetta on those who have humiliated him and ruined his life.  


 
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With a story about a forbidden love, elopement and banishment, the script has its roots in folk history; along with the blood feud, star-crossed lovers are a popular theme in mediterranean folk stories. There’s usually an violent outburst, causing the young man to flee the region or country, often joining the French foreign legion while the girl, who’s equally blamed for the tragedy, ends up in a bar in a harbor town, singing for the lost and the lonely, a folklorist paraphrase of prostitution. But Manos Torpes is a western, so the boy becomes a gunman and an avenger instead of a legionnaire.  
With a story about a forbidden love, elopement and banishment, the script has its roots in folk history; along with the blood feud, star-crossed lovers are a popular theme in mediterranean folk stories. There’s usually an violent outburst, causing the young man to flee the region or country, often joining the French foreign legion while the girl, who’s equally blamed for the tragedy, ends up in a bar in a harbor town, singing for the lost and the lonely, a folklorist paraphrase of prostitution. But Manos Torpes is a western, so the boy becomes a gunman and an avenger instead of a legionnaire.  

Revision as of 09:58, 23 May 2015

An interesting but uneven paella western with influences from melodrama, horror and martial arts movies. Peter Lee Lawrence is a stable hand who is humiliated and banished after marrying a girl who was promised to a rich land owner. An old China man teaches him how to use a gun.


Director: Rafael Romero Marchent - Cast: Peter Lee Lawrence, Alberto de Mendoza, Pilar Velázquez, Antonio Casas, Manuel de Blas, Luis Induni, Antonio Molino Rojo, Frank Braña, Aldo Sambrell, Mariano Vidal Molina, Lorenzo Robledo - Music: Anton Garcia Abril



Awkward Hands (See Database Page) opens with Peter Lawrence having premonitions about his own death at the hands of a black-clad stranger. It’s a harrowing scene, but we immediately find out that it was a dream sequence when he's woken up by a voice calling his name. Peter Lee is a simple stable hand who’s all but respected by his colleagues. He also has a secret: he has fallen in love with his boss’s daughter, the beautiful Dorothy, and she has answered his feelings. The girl’s father strongly opposes to the affair, because he has promised his girl to the rich landowner, a man who also controls the water supply of the region. When Dorothy’s parents find out that Peter and Dorothy have married in secret, the boy is severely whipped (twice) and escorted into the desert, where he’s left for dead to serve as food for the buzzards ...


The first twenty minutes of the movie are melodramatic and dull, but things pick up when Peter is banished and left for dead in the desert. His life is saved by a mysterious black-clad gunman called Latimore, who tells Peter that he’s looking for four men. The four are waiting for Latimore in a ghost town because they know he won’t ever give up chasing them. After the four are taken care of, Latimore brings the young man to a wise old China man, who tells him there are three types of men in the West: those who kill, those who die and those who run away. Even though Peter’s hands look 'awkward’, the old man turns him into a proficient gunman, ready to carry out a vendetta on those who have humiliated him and ruined his life.

With a story about a forbidden love, elopement and banishment, the script has its roots in folk history; along with the blood feud, star-crossed lovers are a popular theme in mediterranean folk stories. There’s usually an violent outburst, causing the young man to flee the region or country, often joining the French foreign legion while the girl, who’s equally blamed for the tragedy, ends up in a bar in a harbor town, singing for the lost and the lonely, a folklorist paraphrase of prostitution. But Manos Torpes is a western, so the boy becomes a gunman and an avenger instead of a legionnaire.


This is an interesting genre contribution, but some have complained about its unevennness and the zigzagging script. There are also a few story elements that aren’t properly developed. Allusions are made to the murder of Peter Lee’s parents, but we never learn what happened. The film opens in the style of a melodrama, makes a shift towards a master-pupil plot, turns into a revenge western, and finally returns to its melodramatic roots with a downbeat, rather sudden finale. There's also some influence from horror and martial arts. Peter Lee Lawrence is pretty good and Alberto De Mendoza’s black-clad bounty killer is a cool and grim character. A couple of visually strong moments stick to mind: One of Latimore’s victims is tied to a leper - quite a unique way to dispose of your enemies - and then there’s this remarkable, symbolic scene telling us what happened to Dorothy after her young husband was sent away: The parents had sent the girl to Johnny, who had cutt off their water supply, and after her return the parents rejoice at the sight of the water gushing from the pump in ejaculatory fashion. The horror in Pilar’s face tell us exactly what the gushing water stands for.

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