Kindar the Invulnerable (1965)

Touches You

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Although Steve Reeves is the first name which comes to mind when one thinks of "Peplum" movies – and with good reason since he was the subgenre's first (and perhaps only) bona-fide star – the sheer fact that I was introduced to them as a kid in the early 1980s via Italian TV broadcasts of MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1961) and GOLIATH AND THE SINS OF BABYLON (1963) has made me look out for Mark Forest's movies more than any of the others who have likewise stepped in the sandals of such muscle-bound heroes over the years. Indeed, out of 14 titles in Forest's filmography, I have now watched all but one – THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR (1964). The film under review, then, made when the mythological epics had been overtaken in popularity by the newest fad in Italian cinema i.e. Spaghetti Westerns, was his last film appearance since, unlike his contemporaries, he apparently chose not to diversify his curriculum – even though he was a professional singer and a qualified teacher of that art form! Rather than bow out playing in any one of the roles that had made his name like Hercules and Maciste, Forest's final star vehicle was an "Arabian Nights"-type fable with his superpowers – emphatically stated in the film's very title – here being attributed not to any blood relation to the gods but having his mother being hit by a lightning bolt during the fatal childbirth. This conveniently satisfies a prophecy that this kingdom's first-born can only ever be harmed by "a red flower". Needless to say, a band of rogue desert nomads come to hear of this through the duplicitous court maid and they kidnap the child and murder the latter witness. Curiously enough, the villain (Mimmo Palmara) dispatches his newly-acquired son to be raised by an old woman in a remote part of the sand dunes and only returns to claim him 30 years later!; by that time, he has not only grown into Mark Forest but his favourite past time seems to be swimming in crocodile-infested waters while racing and daring them to catch up with him (even if he is still unaware of his extraordinary powers)! Once he is back into the fold of Palmara's tent encampment, he is belatedly and summary trained in the art of war and sold to the troops – by ordering his astonished archers to cut down his own son with arrows – as their secret weapon against the armies of Forest's real sovereign father – led by his younger brother Howard Ross (here still billed under the more colourful moniker of "Red Ross").True to formula, given that there are two brothers and two battling factions in the narrative, there must also be two women, one who divides the siblings and one who comes between putative father and adopted son; the former is played by the unlikely-named Dea Flowers (in what appears to be her only role) and the sultry Rosalba Neri fills the latter. Flowers is bethrothed to Ross but soon falls for Forest's tender loving care when kidnapped by Palmara's clan and supposedly given to him as a slave; similarly, Neri is the rebel leader's favourite but soon falls under the spell of Forest's brawny figure. During the course of the film, the two brothers are unknowingly engaged in a duel to the death but the kind-hearted Forest is somehow unwilling to go through with it and spares Ross' life; later still, while ostensibly employed to insinuate himself into the enemy fortress, Forest gets to learn the truth after meeting his father and brother face to face. Needless to say, our hero turns against Palmara and executes him – but not before Neri sacrifices her life for him to "the red flower" (which turns out to be plain fire after all) – and new Prince Regent Ross relinquishes his bride-to-be Flowers to a modest family life in the desert oasis Forest inhabited as a kid.All in all, while not a particularly outstanding entry in the genre, this proved a surprisingly decent and enjoyable one which I came across dubbed in English on "You Tube" – especially in view of the fact that it was Forest's swan-song, was directed by Civirani – who had made the latter's weakest effort, HERCULES AGAINST THE SONS OF THE SUN (1964) – and, what is more, was originally titled very similarly to Antonio Margheriti's ANTHAR L'INVINCIBLE aka THE DEVIL OF THE DESERT AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (1964) starring Kirk Morris that I just caught up with a few days ago, which ought to have spelled redundancy!

"Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun" director Osvaldo Civirani and scenarists Alessandro Ferraù, Roberto Gianviti, and Luciano Trasatti concocted a warrior unlike any other in the annuals of traditional Sword & Sandal films. In some way, Kindar is like Superman, but he isn't an extraterrestrial. Instead, Kindar (Mark Forest) is born into royalty as the son of a sultan, but his birth is singular. He was born during a storm, and lightning struck his mother when he was born and killed her. Meantime, baby Kinder emerges as a man who isn't vulnerable to anything. Like Superman and Kryptonite, Kindar has only one weakness, a red rose. Actually, the red rose here is a metaphor for fire. Nothing but flames can harm Kindar. The Sultan is awestruck by this turn of affairs. Essentially, a villainous rebel leader, Seymuth (Mimmo Palmara), abducts the infant and raises him as his own. He keeps Kindar hidden for some twenty years, and Kindar hasn't the slight clue that Seymuth isn't his real father. When he rides into battle for the first time, Kindar lives up to his name as 'the Invulnerable.' Seymuth plans to use Kindar to lead his army of nomadic warriors into the city. Unfortunately, Seymuth's plan doesn't work out, and Kindar discovers that he is the son of Eman, King of Utor. Eventually, Kindar and Seymuth have a face-off.Civirani, who also served as cinematographer, lensed the action on location in Egypt as well as on the Nile River. The pyramids of Giza, Abusir, and Dahshur are visible in some long shots. The spectacle, Palmara's villainy, and the authentic Egyptian scenery make this Sword & Sandal melodrama tolerable, but it lacks surprises and revelations. Forest furnishes his solemn muscular presence, while Palmara is every inch an audacious dastard. Rosalba Neri and Dea Flowers provide the feminine pulchritude. Only serious Peplum fans should apply. "Kindar the Invulnerable" isn't one of Forest's better epics.

...and yet this is probably Mark Forest's best film.I've purchased the WARRIORS DVD pack, which has 50 Sword & Sandal films included in one single package. The quality ranges from execrable to pretty decent action films. Of all the films I've watched up to now, this will probably be the most difficult one to review because part of it is bad but then some part it is pretty decent, in fact, surprisingly good. Because the transfer and image quality on the DVD was almost unwatchable, I cannot give an accurate opinion about the actual production qualities of the movie but needless to say, I have a good eye for these things and here's my rundown of KINDAR THE INVULNERABLE.Let's start with the bad: The acting is pretty bad. Mark Forest will never be mistaken as a great actor but in this movie he gives new meaning to wooden. Actors who played Hercules or Maciste or Goliath were never great actors to begin with and the producers of these movies sometimes compensated for this weakness by hiring dependable actors for the other roles. Not in this movie. Many of the other actors are weak, including the usually dependable Mimmo Palmara, who for some reason here overacts shamelessly.The direction is odd. A lot of scenes shot from faraway. So faraway that the only thing you see are human figures set against the desert with the dubbed voices booming out of nowhere. You know the actors are there somewhere but I couldn't make out who was who. It's like watching "radio".Speaking of voices, the dubbing and dialogue can only be described as all out terrible. The actor who dubbed Mark's dialogue was all wrong and his booming voice didn't match the beefy actor at all. During fights or any moment when characters are huffing or grunting, the dubbing makes it sound like someone is spitting on the microphone. I kid you not. Bad dubbing is not really the fault of the original filmmakers' vision but more the fault of the US distributors. Hopefully, the original Italian dialogue is not this bad.The film has some long moments. Even at 98 minutes, it felt like it lasted over 2 hours. Not a good sign for an action flick. The pacing would be improved considerably with a little editing here and there.Now with the good:Some action scenes are excellent. The fighting scene between Kindar and his brother is the highlight of the film. The location during that scene is amazing. I don't know where this sequence was shot but it was startling.The beginning is also startling. We see and hear a woman giving birth and then a lightning bolt strikes the bed and Kindar is born (and the reason why he's "invulnerable"). This scene is unintentionally funny because of combining a lightning bolt with a birth (!) but it's very surprising to see a woman giving birth to a child, with moans and all, in a kids picture made in 1964.Mark Forest as never been in better shape. He wears tights throughout the movie, which leaves nothing to the imagination. Sexually sensitive Fanboys beware.The sometimes bad acting is compensated by the fact that the cast is uniformly good looking. Mimmo Palmara, Dea Flowers, Howard Ross and most especially Rosalba Neri are all at their prime in regards to their looks. Rosalba is truly gorgeous as Kira. What a screen presence. And lastly, some shots are almost poetic. For instance, the last scene, when Mark and Dea stand against a river, with pyramids on the other side of the river, the reflection of those pyramids can be seen in the water. The effect is cool, subtle and very effective.There's another great moment in KINDAR: when Seymuth (Mimmo) is defeated and returns to his tribe. We see him with his dejected soldiers walking towards the camera in one long static shot. It's a beautiful moment. The music during that scene is excellent.Like I said, KINDAR is wildly inconsistent in regards to its level of quality. Something tells me that a good, clean transfer, with the original widescreen ratio aspect and Italian soundtrack would boost the quality of this Sword & Sandal. The pacing would still be too slow but still a vast improvement over what's currently available on DVD now. For now, this is my favorite Mark Forest S&S flick and one of the most original Peplums out there.

Mark is hit at his birth by a bolt of lightning which kills his mother but makes him almost invulnerable: Only the "Red Flower" can harm him, though nobody knows what it is. Unfortunately, he is soon thereafter kidnaped and made the chief warrior of a desert bandit tribe led by Mimmo Palmara, which tries to sack Mark's city of birth. Two great scenes: Mark, without knowing it, has to fight his own brother in a whipping and wrestling duel in the mountains. And: Mark lets himself be put into an iron maiden to prove that he cannot be harmed; he steps out of it and simply states, "I am invulnerable." Extra wooden acting during love scenes (even in comparison to other products of Italian popular cinema of this time)!! Low production costs, partially boring. Recommended for fans of Mark Forest or Italian trash cinema only. Almost the bottom of the barrel. Rosalba Neri has only a very small part to play, which is a pity.