#StokerScore 8/10
Westerns, as I have said before on here, are one of my favourite genres of movie, mainly due to my Dad's influence as we bonded over my love of films. He would play cricket and talk sport with my brother but with me, it was movies and in particular, westerns.
Whether it is a classic from the Silver or Golden age of Hollywood starring Alan Ladd, or John Wayne, or maybe even Doris Day. perhaps, a Spaghetti Western with lots of dubbing, an outrageous comedy like Blazing Saddles, or even horror and sci-fi westerns such as Near Dark or Star Wars, I will always give these movies the time of day.
I can't quite remember where the recommendation for this movie came from as I follow a number of vloggers on YouTube so I apologise for forgetting exactly whose site this appeared on. What I do know is that the premise appealed immediately. It's giving nothing away to say that it falls into the sub-genre of revenge western in the same vein as Tarantino's Django Unchained or Kevin Costner's Open Range plus it also has the 'mysterious stranger' trope used by Clint Eastwood in Hang Em High and Pale Rider. The difference is that this time it is set in Germany and uses the German language with English subtitles.
The main character, played by Sam Riley, has grown up in the USA before travelling to the Alps to right some wrongs. This probably accounts for why a non-German was cast in the role and why, then, his character speaks fluent if not exactly a lot of German rather than being dubbed. The movie has a fairly sombre tone with plenty of foreshadowing and brief flashbacks and when set against the dramatic, snowy backdrop of the mountains offers a realistic insight into the difficult conditions in which these people have chosen to live. As a community cut off from the outside world and who are wary of strangers, the score is perfectly balanced with a continuous plodding sound that goes along with the stranger's metronome. Clara Luzia's cover of Nina Simone's Sinnerman that accompanies the opening credits is really rather good, too.
The action, which is sporadic, is matched with the character development meaning that the film, for me, finds a balance and explains the motivations of the individual characters, all except for the bad guys who are fairly two-dimensional. There is a narration running through the film, too, which I felt was a bit unnecessary as the actors and the plot explained everything well enough. Saying that, the final monologue was a perfectly acceptable way to end the film.
Overall, I think The Dark Valley is a solid addition to the pantheon of westerns and with its German language and setting allows it to stand out from its peers. It's definitely a movie I will revisit from time to time. I hope you enjoy it and if you're new to westerns check out the others I've mentioned in this post or drop me a comment and I'll suggest a few others.
