Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Road to Paloma Blu-ray Movie Review

A worthy journey.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 14, 2014

Writer/Director/Actor Jason Momoa's (Conan the Barbarian) Road to Paloma embodies the quintessential spirit of the American West "Road" movie. Motorcyclists, wide open spaces, hard living, right hearts, a sincere quest, and chaacters dogged by the law define the film's structure. It's never quite laser-focused but never meandering too far from its center, exploring the lives of its characters and the spirits that drive them while shaping the world in which they live with an almost casual pace, where the urgency comes not from without but from within, where the story finds its meaning in the little things rather than the broader plot pieces. Some audiences may be put off by the more deliberate pacing and the absence of explosions, fireballs, gunfire, motorcycle tricks, and other "Action" film elements. This is a throwback movie in every way, something that would have felt right at home in the 1970s. It's a fine example of how cinema operates on a smaller, more intimate scale, driven by characters and guided by feeling rather than generic mass appeal pieces that would otherwise mask the beauty of the film's simple premise and the complexities at work deep within it.

Ceremony.

Robert Wolf (Momoa) is a Native American biker who sets out to spread his late mother's ashes. He's wanted by the feds for the murder of the man who raped and murdered his mother. His father Numay (Wes Studi) is a local law enforcement official whose displeasure for the feds and their double standards is well known. As Robert embarks on his quest, nearly penniless and with nothing but the clothes on his back and the bike that carries him, he picks up a new friend named Cash (Robert Homer Mollohan) to join him on his journey.

Even if there are times when the pacing falls slightly off-kilter, the film lifts itself back up through its photography and gorgeous settings. The picture captures a lovely American West backdrop with exquisite craftsmanship, practically willing the scenery to emerge as a character itself, playing both as a spiritual place for reflection and life and a harsh setting for the difficulties that follow the characters. The lack of background clutter also allows the film's more reflective qualities to dominate the experience. They're never drowned out by background noise but rather enhanced by the feeling of solitude and the connection with nature and the journey through its expanse. If there's an issue, it's that the film never quite seems fully sure of what is at the center of the character reflection. There's the linear plot and the nonlinear inward character qualities and larger story themes that don't always seem to jive, but then again one could conceivably view that dichotomy as a positive. The exterior action often seems but a vessel for the deeper, more satisfying journey that's shaped by the characters' pasts and driven by the promises of an uncertain future. Much of the film works through the implied, then, on a feel and through a filter. It's effectively done and not so structurally stringent as to lead the viewer to a certain destination but to rather guide him or her towards a meaning that's at least partially of one's own making.

It follows, then, that one's enjoyment of the film comes through how well he or she can relate to the characters, understand them, know who they are and feel the purpose with which they undertake their journey. The ebbs and flows of the trip seem superficially dull: washing dishes for food, fighting for cash. Yet it's not so much in the characters' actions but rather through their reactions -- how they view the world, the way they operate in it, how they handle its challenges and reap its rewards -- that defines them. The film does a fine job of defining the characters in the superficial -- creating a back story, motivations, camaraderie -- but shaping them beyond, exposing their hearts and exploring their souls along the way. The actors are excellent. They understand the film's reflective qualities and play to that end, allowing both their performances and the supportive photography and juxtapositions to give the movie shape, not so much fretting over standing just so or speaking just right but giving the movie a beautifully natural appearance and flow. Jason Momoa is superb in the lead and never seems burdened by his triple-duty as actor, writer, and director. He manages to create a character who's both stern yet welcoming, a man with a purpose but a free soul capable of feeling, exploring, and learning. He finds terrific screen chemistry with Co-writer and co-star Robert Homer Mollohan, who portrays Cash.

Road to Paloma Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Road to Paloma's 1080p transfer won't be winning any awards for "prettiest Blu-ray image." The troubled transfer never shines and, even at its best, never looks all that great. Generally, and aside from a few brief exceptions, details prove highly disappointing. Textures are smudgy and indistinct, lacking pinpoint detail, sharpness, and clarity. Faces and clothes sometimes showcase more than basic features, but terrain and vegetation are disappointingly indistinct, a shame considering the gorgeous backdrops dotted throughout the film. Colors fare little better; the earthy backgrounds are offset by some green vegetation and bits of color, such as red signage on an out-of-the-way gas station exterior. The image suffers from other maladies, including false colors, jagged lines (nearly every straight surface, and particularly telephone wires and rail tracks), aliasing, and banding are commonplace. Black levels are murky and poorly defined. Flesh tones are flat but never too warm. There's nary a shot in the movie where something -- smudged details, aliasing, and the like -- are not readily evident. According to IMDB, the film was shot with the "prosumer" Canon 5D Mark II digital camera, so the technical shortcomings are not wholly unexpected.

Road to Paloma Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Road to Paloma rides onto Blu-ray with a satisfactory Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track produces a bit of fair ambience, opening with light blowing winds that nicely, but not fully or transparently, drift through the stage. Other exterior ambient effects are likewise introduced with good placement but not precision reproduction. Music enjoys solid clarity and presence across the stage. Sound effects are dominated by the guttural screams of a revving motorcycle engine, which plays with a satisfactory presence and low end. Dialogue is generally clear and focused but does come across as somewhat scratchy and muddled, at times, notably during a garage sequence early in the film.

Road to Paloma Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Road to Paloma contains only one supplement, a deleted scene entitled The Hunt (1080p, 4:30).

Road to Paloma Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Road to Paloma is in many ways a classic Road film, a picture of inward exploration juxtaposed against the more literal and linear outward journey. Though it's paced deliberately and lacks much in the way of raw action, the film satisfies -- and then some -- through its explored, but not fully defined, inner journeys. It perfectly blends a simple exterior with a complicated interior, all of which is shaped by gorgeous photography and locations as well as several high quality performances. Road to Paloma features troubled video, decent audio, and only one supplement, a deleted scene. Recommended on the strength of the film.