Movie review: ***^Geronimo (1993)

This is a made for TV movie.  It features Wes Studi as Geronimo.  This is a movie that portrays the native Americans in a positive light.  It starts where Geronimo gives himself up the first time, explains his leaving the reservations and going back on the warpath with a small group.  It shows those things which lead to his arrest, or surrender the second time.  He was shipped to a PPOW camp in Florida.  He was allowed to eventually live the prison, but never allowed to return to his home territory.  He was relocated to Oklahoma. 
Others portraying roles in this movie include Matt damon as Lieutenant Britton Davis, who was part of the surrender, Jason Paric as Lt. Charles Gatewood, who actually negotiated the surrender,  for which he was banned to obscurity, Gene Hackman as Brigadier General George Crook, Robert Duvall as Al Sieber, a scout, Rodney A. Grant as Mangas, an Apache scout and Kevin Tighe as General Nelson Miles.   I am not a judge of how accurate this film is.  It often uses the Apache language with subtitles.  I imagine many Native American actors had to learn the language, as well as some Americans who communicate with the Native Americans. 

Movie Review: ****Smoke Signals (1998)

Alexie Sherman wrote the screenplay as well as the book upon which this movie is based.  It is a great medium for Native American stories as it tells a classic story of growth and reconciliation as well as have many fascinating stories inside the story.  This movie is touted as the first all Native American movie.  As Victor (Adam Beach) struggles with first the abandonment of his father (Gary Farmer) and then the death of his father,  and his distaste for being Indian (because they all drink and hurt others) we are told a very good story.  Thomas (Evan Adams) struggles through life generally, but in his way he was worried about Victor and his reaction to his father leaving, and passing away.  Victor's mother is portrayed by Tantoo Cardinal.
This movie begins on the Coeur D' Alene Reservation and follows Thomas and Victor as the travel to Arizona to collect the things of Victor's father.  Victor can barely put up with Thomas, but through his friendship, as well as the advice of an Arizona friend of his father, Suzy Song (Irene Bedard), Victor does come to terms with his life, and with his father.  Two prominent themes in this story, it is OK to be Indian, and misuse of alcohol can have devastating effects.

Movie Review: ***Reprisal (1958)

This is a movie about Frank Madden (Guy Madison) who has come to a new town to make a start for himself.  He is half Indian, but has decided to just be white so he can own property.  It just happens that he arrives at a town ripe with racism against native Americans.  A girl likes him, but even she has an attitude against Native Americans.  Turns out two Native Americans were lynched for trespassing.  The Shipley brothers responsible for the murders are found not guilty by the white jury.  Madden does not want to take sides, but he is drawn into the conflict.  The name reprisal comes from a Native American, whose wife was one of those lynched.  He gets reprisal by killing one of the Shipleys.  However Madden is blamed, and he is close to the end of a rope by the mob, unless someone stands up for him.
This movie shows Native Americans in a bit better light than some.  However even in this film, the actors portraying the Native Americans seem to be white.  It appears it is OK to pretend to be Native American, but still having an actual Native American in the film is no good.  This is a film made, now almost 60 years ago.

Music Review: William Gutierrez: Calling the Eagle

This is a CD of native American Flute Music.  Native American flute sounds cool, and it has that haunting quality of the floating flute music with the stops that only an accomplished musician can do.

However in the case of this music, a little is better.  You hear it sometimes at the beginning of a movie, but only a minute or so.  With songs five or six minutes long, you spend most of the song hoping for it to be over.  And the music is almost always slow, which tends to be good going to sleep music, but not staying awake music.  “Children’s Song” is the only one that gets out of that mode and creates a more up tempo beat. 

All the songs are solo melodies, with the exception of Sandia Canyon which somehow has an echo, perhaps created by a second flute.  The love songs are much too slow, and become boring quickly to me.

Movie Review: *** Skinwalkers

***Skinwalkers  2002 PBS.  This movie is available through Netflix DVD.  It is not one of the horror films with the same name.  It is based on the Tony Hillerman novel and is a crime show based on the Navajo Reservation.  As such there is spectacular scenery.  The story is quite intense, and there is a definite twist in terms of who is the killer in the end.  There is a detective, as well as an officer working with him, who is also in training to become a medicine man.  I really enjoyed this show, and the look at the Navajo culture, which is part of the theme of the show.  How close the different officers are to their cultures, as well as the wife of the detective, makes for an interesting story.  Also part of the theme is medicine men vs. traditional medicine.

Movie Review: ***^Column South

Column South is a 1953 movie starring Audie Murphy as a Calvary Lieutenant, Jed Sayre, at an outpost watching the Navajo Indiana, during the period of time leading up to the Civil War.  This movie has the Native American conflict, overlayed by maneuvering of the pending war.  The Navajo are at peace, but the new Captain and her sister don't see things that way, and are distrustful of the Native Americans.  This distrust almost leads to a battle.  In the end it is the Confederate sympathizers who almost screw up the peace, as they are stealing supplies, and blaming it on the Navajo.  They are also trying to force a conflict, so as to require more supplies they also hope to steal.  They are also preparing for the war and hoping to steal the West and the access to California gold.
As luck would have it, Sayre, and the Captain's sister don't like each other, but this is only to disguise their true feelings of love for each other.
I found this movie entertaining.  I didn't recognize Audie Murphy as I watched, other than knowing the actor was familiar.