Having survived an attack by the Bolivian army, Butch Cassidy spends 20 years on a small ranch, breaking horses under the name James Blackthorn. Butch Cassidy, after all, is presumed dead.
But now he’s received word that Etta Place has died of tuberculosis in San Francisco, leaving behind a young man named Ryan who just might be his son. So he begins making plans to return to the United States.
A mining engineer named Eduardo Apodaca spoils those plans, spooking the horse that’s carrying Butch’s life’s savings.
So he offers Butch half the $50,000 he’s stolen from a mine, if only Butch will help him shake the riders on his trail.
The men slowly form a bond. But Butch isn’t the only one who hasn’t been totally truthful with his new companion.
Sam Shepard as James Blackthorn, confronting an unexpected problem in Blackthorn (2011)
Eduardo Noriega as Educardo Apodaca, asking for Blackthorn’s help after stealing $50,000 from a mine boss in Blackthorn (2011)
Review:
Well-done film with unique Bolivian scenery and a fine performance from Sam Shepard, who even sings a couple of songs, including “Ain’t No Grave.”
Stephen Rea plays Mackinley, the lawman who’s spent most of his life tracking Butch and Sundance. Magaly Solier is Yana, Butch’s Bolivian lover.
Dominique McElligott is lovely as Etta Place in flashback sequences that are frequent, well-placed and not overdone.
Stephen Rea as Mackinley, the Pinkerton agent who never gave up the hunt for Butch and Sundance in Blackthorn (2011)
Magaly Solier as Yana, James Blackthorn’s Bolivian lover in Blackthorn (2011)
Directed by:
Mateo Gil
Cast:
Sam Shepard … James Blackthorn
aka Butch Cassidy
Eduardo Noriega … Eduardo Apodaca
Stephen Rea … Mackinley
Magaly Solier … Yana
Dominique McElligott … Etta Place
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau … Young Butch
Padraic Dalaney … Sundance Kid
Luis Bredow … Doctor
Cristian Mercado … Bolivian Army Officer
Runtime: 90 min.
Padraic Dalaney as the Sundance Kid and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as the young Butch Cassidy in Blackthorn (2011)
Dominique McElligott as Etta Place, bailing Butch and Sundance out of a jam in Blackthorn (2011)
Memorable lines:
Eduardo: “You son of a bitch.”
James: “Yeah. You should have heard what they called me back in Wyoming.”
James: “Sometimes, I think there’s only two moments in a man’s life. One’s when he leaves home. The other’s when he returns. Everything else is just in the middle.”
James: “They thought I was dead too, so I just did what any good dead person would do and went off and raised me some horses. Twenty years. That was a big change. Quiet times.”
Eduardo: “You should have become a rancher. You’d be rich now, instead of being here with me.”
James: “Rich? I’ve been my own man. Ain’t nothing richer than that.”
Sam Shepard as James Blackthorn, scrambles for a gun in a desperate situation in Blackthorn (2011)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as young Butch Cassidy, bedridden in Bolivia in Blackthorn (2011)
Padraic Dalaney as the Sundance Kid, after the shootout with the Bolivian army in Blackthorn (2011)
Padraic Dalaney as Sundance Kid and Dominique McElligott as Etta Place in Blackthorn (2011)
Eduardo Noriega as Eduardo Apodaca, the thief who convinces Blackthorn to help him escape a posse in Blackthorn (2011)
Sam Shepard as James Blackthorn, caught in the desert by the posse and fighting back in Blackthorn (2011)
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