THE STORY – David and Calista Carradine’s relationship unfolds alongside their unfinished passion project chronicling Mata Hari, the Dutch exotic dancer and spy.
THE CAST – David Carradine & Calista Carradine
THE TEAM – Joe Beshenkovsky & James A. Smith (Directors)
THE RUNNING TIME – 93 Minutes
No shortage of unfinished projects exists in the world that are examples of grand ambitions far exceeding the realistic expectations that were put before their authors. It’s a difficult endeavor to complete any creative project, and legends can be born from films that started with such fervent passion that they eventually went unfulfilled. When examining these incomplete journeys, one becomes fascinated with the players involved. The motivations and challenges reveal the true passions that were present and can be used to examine an intriguing point in time. The project at the center of “Mata Hari” not only exposes the chaos that emerged at every turn of this doomed production, but also reveals the personal strife leading to such a contentious effort and illuminating catharsis. What it displays is often alluring, even if the ultimate narrative it constructs is a bit too muddled to be wholly riveting.
Many people are already familiar with David Carradine. For those who didn’t know about his place in a long-standing acting dynasty or see him on the massively successful television series “Kung Fu,” he is most certainly known as the titular antagonist from “Kill Bill.” By the mid-1970s, his fame was intensely scrutinized, and with that, so were many of his anxieties and demons. When substance abuse and mental health issues threatened to destroy his life, he took it upon himself to invest in a personal project: a film that would tell the story of the true-life figure Mata Hari. The anchor of the piece would be casting his teenage daughter, Calista, in the lead role. Estranged from her for many years, he would use the film as an opportunity for them to bond, shooting over the course of many years so the character would age in real time with her. Their relationship evolves greatly throughout that time, while they become closer but also resentful of the wildly changing circumstances that their lives are thrust upon them. What began as a desire to rekindle a connection becomes distorted through a tumultuous process.
Multiple objectives seemed to be at play for directors Joe Beshenkovsky and James A. Smith when unearthing this story. On one side, a documentation showcases the disorganized manner in which the filming of this epic came together, providing behind-the-scenes details that present a window into a mostly unknown production from decades ago. There is also a look into Carradine’s biography, tracking his rise to prominence, struggling to maintain sobriety, and trying to find enlightenment through an arduous enterprise. We also have Calista’s perspective, forging a newfound relationship with her father while also coming into adulthood, faced with a new set of personalized conflicts to overcome. On their own, these tracks are all fascinating. As woven together, it creates a rather frantic and uneven narrative that feels restless as it unfolds. The storytelling doesn’t have a clean viewpoint, and it’s unclear if the ultimate thesis is about the attempt to complete this failed vision or more of an exploration of familial struggles. Obviously, these aspects are meant to be intertwined, but the presentation does not naturally weave these elements together.
Even though the story can be frustrating in execution, there is still a compelling, informative aura. Little can endear one to an AI-generated voiceover of Carradine that delivers stale, basic backstory notes of Mata Hari, the use of which also undercuts the emotional impact when he is meant to discuss the more meaningful elements of the production. But it’s still thrilling to see old footage that offers a peek into his role as a filmmaker, seeing his ambitions get trampled by ineptitude and unpreparedness to take on such a daunting task. Calista’s journey finds her infusing reality into the art, with her affairs and pregnancies weaving themselves into the ever-evolving script so that her father can capture the real life that drives their bond. It’s an engrossing examination that is less effective when we see her in the modern day, attempting to complete a few scenes from the film that act more as a symbolic gesture in memory of her father than an actual creative pursuit. It’s a saccharine note to end the film on, nowhere near as effective as the more engaging details that came before.
“Mata Hari” is one of those films that has a lot on its plate that it wants to discuss in a relatively short runtime. The switching lines of thought between intimate mining of personal relationships, mixing with the revelations of filming an unfolding disaster, are both alluring topics of conversation. Sadly, the film struggles to coalesce these facets into a satisfying whole, allowing for a scattershot perspective to never quite feel cleanly executed. Still, what is displayed manages to capture a time capsule revealing a captivating dynamic, fueled by ambitions that sought both creative fulfillment and emotional reconciliation. It’s a portrait that isn’t the most effective, but has enough pieces worthy of appreciation.
