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The Postman 
The Cast:
The Locations:
The Postman (From the DVD – Novelist David Brin’s Notes) The Postman was written as an answer to all those post-apocalyptic books and films that seem to revel in the idea of civilizations fall. Instead this is a story about how much we take for granted – and how desperately we would miss the little gracious things that connect us today. The central character is a special kind of hero – toughened by griefs and trials yet still somehow uncalloused and willing to hope – the last idealist in a fallen America. A man who cannot let go of a dream we all once shared, who sparks restored faith that we can recover – and perhaps even become better than we once were. In this era of cynicism, we need reminders of the decency that lies within. We are in this together.
The Reviews A big-canvas rendering of a passionately expressed vision of what the United States was, and is meant to be, "The Postman" is a rare epic film flint is actually about something. The clarity with which its ideas are articulated proves variable, and the hokiness and straight-faced sincerity of some of them will make Kevin Costner's first film as a director since the Oscar-winning "Dances With Wolves" seven years ago an easy target for highbrow and cynical critics and viewers. And while the filmmakers might not want to admit it about such an enormously expensive undertaking, the main motivation driving the picture is indisputably ideological, which fact alone makes it a fascinating anomaly among big-studio Hollywood projects. It's as if "Billy Jack" met "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" in "Futureworld," which begins to suggest some of the diverse influences at work in a film that may be branded reactionary by left-wingers but is actually a curiously anti-rugged-individualist statement that stresses the overriding importance of community. As it becomes clear that the American West, where all the action unfolds, consists of isolated, tiny pockets of surviving humanity, all of which are threatened and occasionally preyed upon by the Holnists, it also becomes believable that even the lie that the Postman represents will be willingly accepted if it provides a vestige of hope for the future. When all appears lost and even the Postman is well ready to quit the cause, the rebels rise again, with all climaxing in a mano-a-mano battle between the two leaders. The sweeping movement of the tale across half a continent, and the frequent action that facilitates it, is conveyed in a majestic and for the most part exciting manner. Visually, pic is nearly always stimulating, thanks to the striking and unfamiliar locations, the grand cinematography by Stephen Windon,Ida Random's hand-crafted production design and John Bloomfield's imaginatively patchwork costumes. Despite the missteps, however, the drama is played with general conviction, which is a tribute to Costner's undoubted passion for this material. Performing in his customary solid, understated manner, he also turns in a fluid job of direction that represents very personal work on an enormous scale. Patton makes for a formidable, crafty, well-spoken villain, while British newcomer Williams is a real find, a gorgeous young actress who projects unmistakable inner strength and intelligence. Tate's Postman acolyte is rather too eager-beaver, while Daniel yon Bargen excels as Pineview's suspicious sheriff. Thematically, the film forwards a general argument in favor of the return to fundamental American values through the prism of a world from which they have forcibly been eliminated. Ironically, however, its traditional views are cloaked by a sensibility that most closely resembles that of the faintly rebellious, anti-establishment quasi-Westerns of the early '70s, such as "McCabe," The Hired Hand" and "Bad Company." The blend produces a curious result, one that may or may not have an audience but is nonetheless compelling in the heartfelt way it is presented. Variety, Dec 22, 1997
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