Starts out as one type of film before the presence of outsiders, aka gun-toting Americans. The townspeople, and the film itself, adapts in order to survive, morphing into an American genre movie to overcome the villains. The point to all of this is that, even if you try to wipe out a certain culture or history, it will find a way to remain and live on.

It's one hell of a formal gamble, and it pays off in spades. Once the genre switch happens it complicates so much of the entertainment value we get from the brutality in the film's second half. The more I think about it (and the more I realize the film can be extended to a meta-commentary about the state of the industry today, as evidenced by how many genre titles we saw at Cannes this year), the more I'm impressed.

Will need to rewatch before deciding if I want to bump the rating up, as the first hour didn't do much for me.