WARDEN is a neat little film. A feature film from Marcus Alqueres who did the wonderful FLYING MAN a few years back, the film tells the story of a superhero/super human who calls himself Warden. A resident of Brazil, he begins to manifest his powers as teenager and then begins to fashion himself into a superhero based on comic books.
Taking the form of a documentary the film explores what would happen if a super human appeared in the world and decided to follow the comics (for a while) and become a superhero. It posits the arc he takes from good kid to something else, while also charting the changing view that society has when viewing the “hero”.
If you are a comic book fan you’ve probably thought about these things. At the same time I don’t think we’ve really had anything that dealt with this sort of thing dramatically. Yes, we’ve had films where heroes exist but this is the first time where we have a story where the first one appears and then explores what that means. It’s an interesting discussion that is very grounded in reality.
I know that this may not play well or anyone wanting typical superheroics. This is not a Marvel or DC film, it is something different. Actually it isn’t even like other film like Kickass or Super where we get regular people who do super things. This is firmly what do you we do when a superman shows up among us. (I’m guessing the lack of Marvel style mayhem is why people on IMDB have not rated it highly)
While I think the film tries to do too much and can be a bit too philosophical, I love that this film tries to do more than a typical hero film. I love that it aims to ponder what a real world hero would kick up. This is a film that doesn’t take the easy way and forces us to engage with it.
Recommended.
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