Desert Bloom (1986)

Desert Bloom

1986 | 105 minutes | 5.5 ★ (18)

Drama Family

Overview
The story involves Rose Chismore's youth. She flashes back and remembers her coming-of-age. Her recollections are sometimes less than sweet, particularly those of her troubled and alcoholic step-father. Her memories of Robin, her first-love, are much happier and she also recalls her colorful Aunt Starr -- who's visit is fun but also detrimental to her family's health. The setting of 1950s Las Vegas' bomb testing is increasingly significant to the development of the story.
Release Date
22 January 1986
DirectingEugene Corr
Budget
$0.00
Revenue
$0.00
Stars
Annabeth Gish Jon Voight JoBeth Williams

Videos

User Reviews

Wuchak

26 February 2022

_**Underrated drama about coming of age in 50's Vegas**_ "Desert Bloom" (1986) is an excellent and underrated coming-of-age drama about a semi-dysfunctional family living in Las Vegas in the early 50s. The military is conducting atomic bomb testing nearby. The story mostly focuses on 13 year-old Rose (Annabeth Gish) who struggles with her relationship with her stepfather, Jack (Jon Voight). Jack suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. Her mother, Lily (JoBeth Williams), is the pillar of the family that keeps them together and hopeful. When Lily's sexpot sister, Starr (Ellen Barkin), visits it's both a blessing and a curse. The film grabbed my attention from the get-go, which is a good sign, and sustained it till the end. The first two acts are solid drama that build up to the more volatile final act. Most families function satisfactorily from day to day with an undercurrent of some frustration or animosity, which leads to the occasional explosion of emotions. This is what we see in "Desert Bloom," and it's a potent explosion. The acting is stellar, by the way. Voight's one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema and he's just so believable here. Williams, Barkin and Gish as well. Roger Ebert inexplicably complained that the film is about two many things, but I never got this feeling for a second. Yes, the story juggles quite a few issues -- coming-of-age, atomic bomb testing, mental disorders, child abuse, alcoholism and inappropriate relations -- but they all gel together for a cohesive whole. With all these elements the film is rich with gems to mine. Here are three that I'd like to mention: * The balding, pudgy neighbor who is boldly willing to stand up for an abused child. * The solid mother who keeps her composure at all times, until she catches wind of something sinister. At that point, watch out! (But notice what she does after the explosion). * The ending's emphasis on repentance, forgiveness and redemption. It's so effective it's a mite tear-inducing. As far as the dramatic vibe goes, "Desert Bloom" is reminiscent of films like "Jacknife" (1989) and "Blue Sky" (1991). It's on par with the former and better than the latter. The film was shot in Vegas & Tucson and runs 105 minutes. GRADE: A-

More Like This

Billy Elliot

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with...

Dirty Dancing

Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find...

The 400 Blows

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful...

Fireworks

A sunbaked Sicilian town in the summer of 1982 provides the vivid backdrop to this tender romantic drama about two teenagers who fall in love, but...

Dead Poets Society

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize...

Rebel Without a Cause

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own...

The Outsiders

When two poor Greasers, Johnny and Ponyboy, are assaulted by a vicious gang, the Socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to...

The Wanderers

The streets of the Bronx are owned by '60s youth gangs where the joy and pain of adolescence is lived. Philip Kaufman tells his take on the novel...

Stand by Me

After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way...

The Godfather

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito...

Spring

One of four Hanoun films that take their titles from the seasons of the year, SPRING tells two parallel stories: a man, fleeing the forces of order...

Gym Classes

Siblings Clara and Pietro aren't close, but they share a hatred for the high school that she's recently started attending and that he graduated...

Mr. Harrigan's Phone

Craig, a young boy living in a small town befriends an older, reclusive billionaire, Mr. Harrigan. The two form a bond over books and an iPhone...

Tropic of Violence

Archipelago of Mayotte, French overseas department, Indian Ocean. After being left alone in the world, Moïse, a boy feared by the supercilious...

City of God

In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who...

Daddy's Got Moves

An under-appreciated father, living a humdrum middle-class life, is unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight—and soon he is regarded as never before.

Almost Famous

In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone...

Closely Watched Trains

At a village railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia, a bumbling dispatcher’s apprentice longs to liberate himself from his virginity. Oblivious...

American Graffiti

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

The Nest

Elías (12) is the youngest son of Luisa (45) and José (46). One afternoon, after witnessing a homophobic attack at school, Elías tells his parent...

Cast

Crew