
In addition to committing a large amount of money ($2 million of his own finances) to the details, Depp also commits a decent amount of time (both his and the film's runtime) to telling the story.Ĭoming in at just over two hours, the film spends most of its time with Raphael and his family in their impoverished environment. ‘This picture is bigger than people think. “‘I knew we’d go over $5 million,’” said Depp, even though he and Brando were paid scale for their work on the film. The scale of the production was quite massive in that entire sets had to be built according to a 1997 article by The Los Angeles Times, the large scale production's set pieces were detrimental but crucial to the story:ĭepp said he knew almost immediately that he would have to commit his own money to the project, and he made that decision in ‘a split second.’ In effect, Depp had to guarantee that he would pay for any costs over the film’s budget of about $5 million. This is by no means a microbudget independent film. After the tragedy, the film was dropped by the original studio, then handed over before landing in front of Johnny Depp by producers. However, in 1993, Ghazal murdered his daughter and wife before ending his own life, his body not found for a month. Film school stockroom manager Aziz Ghazal (and co-writer of Zombie High) was attached to direct before Depp. The film’s production was seemingly cursed from the start in the early 1990s. There is no trace of this film on the mainstream platform.


The film is nearly impossible to find on any streaming route and only available to purchase in DVD or Blu-ray in Region 2 (non-USA) format. It was shown at the Cannes International Film Festival and had a very small release in the country of France soon afterwards, but reviews were so scathing that Depp refused to release it in America. This opportunity is to star in a snuff film directed and financed by the mysterious Mr. Depp portrays Raphael, an Indigenous person of an unspecified tribe living in a condemned junkyard who seeks a last ditch effort to provide for his family. The film stars Depp alongside his friend Marlon Brando, Marshall Bell, Elpida Carrillo, and Luis Guzmán, and is based on the harrowingly bleak novel by Gregory McDonald.


The Brave is Johnny Depp’s first and only feature directorial venture, a box office bomb that seriously deserves a second look.
