Valley of the Gods

Josh Hartnett in Valley of the Gods

I was never bored by the spectacle of Lech Majewski's Valley of the Gods, merely stupefied. This bonkers 2019 film seeks to combine Navajo spirituality, ecological consciousness raising, and fantasy. The nominal plot concerns a copywriter (Josh Hartnett) who has a breakdown after the dissolution of his marriage. His psychiatrist (John Rhys-Davies) tells him that he fears the absurdism of life so much that he must face his fears and embrace absurdism. Hartnett swallows this dubious advice and begins to face his fears. He puts on a blindfold and walks backwards through LA. Surviving this, he heads to the Valley of the Gods in Utah for further challenges. He climbs a mountain with pots and pans tied to his legs. Then, he starts writing his magnum opus with a fountain pen in the middle of the desert.

His work concerns a combined Charles Foster Kane and Lucifer figure (played by John Malkovich) who looks down on mere mortals from his mountain top castle. There he has imprisoned various artists and thinkers who he trots out for his occasional amusement. Keir Dullea appears as a butler who has seemingly wandered in from the Overlook Hotel. Indeed, Jan Harlan, Kubrick's brother-in-law, is listed as one of Valley of the Gods' producers.

Intertwined with all this twaddle is a portrait of the Navajo nation in Utah battling a uranium mining company who want to develop their land. Somehow the strands of Native American spirituality and ritual are the strongest parts of the film. Majewski's unyielding pictorialism successfully integrates the valley's topography into the film. However, by the time Malkovich's character is ritually mummified, most will have ceased to try to make heads or tails out of Valley of the Gods. 

There are antecedents for this film. Namely films set in the American desert by émigré directors that would be enhanced if the viewer had a peyote button or two. Perhaps one day some enterprising repertory theater will book a triple feature of Zabriskie Point, Arizona Dream, and Valley of the Gods.

Bonkers or Groovy, Man