Thunderheart
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Movie Reviews of Thunderheart
Movie Review: Thunderheart has staying power
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been ten years since Thunderheart appeared in theaters, and it is still holds up as a powerful, insightful, and eloquent film.I have traveled through the Pine Ridge Lakota reservation and Badlands National Park in western South Dakota, around which Thunderheart was filmed. I've made pilgrimages there both around the time this film appeared and as recently as last week (I live in Texas). Anytime I am close to that area, Thunderheart is the first film that comes to mind, just as Dances With Wolves inevitably comes to mind when I'm in the Black Hills, just to the west.
Thunderheart successfully combines the Lakota's modern 'Feds on the Rez' dilemmas with a wry, witty, ironic, laconic sense of Native American wisdom and mysticism. The film loosely and hauntingly combines the Leonard Peletier story (see "Incident at Ogalala" and/or read Peter Matthiessen's book "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse") with implications and memories of the Wounded Knee tragedy and the plight of a dispossessed and plundered people.
Kilmer and Sheppard get top billing, and both are good, but really, Graham Greene steals the show. His sassy, kick the dirt, Lakota Charlie Chan detective is priceless. Thunderheart conveys the sinister reality of the present along with a triumpant confrontation for which those of us who care about the plight of the Plains Indians certainly hope. "This land is not for sale. This land is not for sale!"
Buy this movie, and show your support and your sympathy for the people who once lorded over the plains.
Movie Review: One that Hollywood Got Right
Summary: 5 Stars
Thunderheart is one those rare films that takes real life events and strings them together in a short space of time so that viewers get a clear picture of the people and the issues faced. Based off of a number of events that happened in the mid seventies, you see the Leonard Peltier incident, the siege at Wounded Knee between Indians and Federal Agents and you see an approximation regarding the murder of Anna Mae Aquash because she was talking about uranium. Graham Greene plays Walter Crow Horse, Val Kilmer is Agent Lavoi and former AIM Chairman, John Trudell - who was there for many of these events and then some - plays Jimmy Loooks Twice. All are fabulous in their respective roles. This film gives a very good synopsis as to what First Nations peoples face to this day with regard to sovereignty, land rights, and just outright survival of both their culture and the People themselves.
When you grow up in an Indigenous household and you saw these events being reported in the various tribal newspapers of the era as well as on the news or hearing your relatives talk about them, it realy hits home in a big way. These are images and events that will be with me my entire life because some of us were keenly awre of them. It is refreshing to see the story be told in a way that is not pure Hollywood hype as some reviewers have charged. I am not sure that the movie was meant to be entertainment as much as to be a cinematic record of these events that have gotten far less attention than what they deserve.
Movie Review: An all star cast, at their best in an important film
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie in the theater many years ago and absolutely loved it. Being part Lakota, I was encouraged by a friend to go see it. I really, really loved it on so many levels.
The story is well written and exciting. There's lots of action, but also lots of spiritual stuff. The cast is fantastic. Graham Greene was AWSOME! Val Kilmer was also fantastic, as was everybody else in this film, but the real treat was the performance of Ted Thin Elk as the elder.
The story is very important. Its about stuff that really was happening out there, though names were changed for "dramatic purposes" if you do your research about the second Wounded Knee incident, this film will really make sense to you.
The director did a fantastic job, as did the cast and everyone behind the scenes who I feel did a really good job, even down to showing us a glimpse of life on the reservation. Too many people associate casinos with Native Americans now and assume all Nations live rich and easy, but its not so. This movie is much closer to reality for so many people.
Also, the journey that Val Kilmer's character goes on and the transformations that take place are wonderful. He is such a good actor. He said that being part Native helped him in this role to make it realistic. Part of him really did come to an awareness that he didn't have before and he brings that to his role.
I can't say enough good about this film.
Movie Review: The human spirit is alive and strong...
Summary: 5 Stars
If I remember correctly, this movie was not rated well when it was first released in theatres. I couldn't understand why since it was well made, had a decent cast and had a thought provoking plot based on true events.The cinematography is very attactive in showing the badlands of South Dakota and featuring looks into the Indian reservations. Also, the music was well done and offered a nice perspective of Native American sounds and environments.
This movie also sends a message about a darker time in America's past when the govenrment perpetrated some devious acts against the Native Americans. Maybe it was high time that these events came out into the open so that more people would know what happened and know that what the U.S. government did was very wrong.
Val Kilmer proved to be well suited for the "by the book" FBI agent that came of age and got in touch with his Indian heritage and learned to do the right thing. Sam Shepard, a great actor as always, played the role very well of the "dark horse" FBI agent with skeletons in his closet and a secret agenda on the Sioux reservation. Graham Greene could not have done any better as the reservation police officer. Showing his pride and dignity as an Native American along with the humorous backlashings at Val Kilmer made for pleasant interactions throughout the movie.
A movie worth watching again and again.
Movie Review: A diamond in the rough
Summary: 5 Stars
Time over time, Val Kilmer has proven that he is not just a pretty face. He has continually impressed even the most severe critics that he is a formidable actor. THUNDERHEART, to me, is among his best performances. There is some predictability in the plot: Kilmer portrays an FBI agent who is part Native-American. When he is sent to a reservation to investigate a crime, he begins to respect and embrace the heritage he had not previously acknowledged. What is not predictable, however, is how well the script avoids sentiment and focuses on Kilmer's transformation.
Loosely based on the actual events surrounding Leonard Peltier's American Indian Movement, and the murders of FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation (all of which is the subject of Peter Matthiessen's book "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse"), THUNDERHEART is a powerful examination of the surreal and frightening life on Native American reservations. Brutality is everywhere: whites against Indians, Indians against Indians, etc. Director Michael Apted does a remarkable job of tempering the violence with scenes of beauty and with images of a peace-loving tribe of people. This is a heartbreaking film at times, but there is a sense of justice in the long-run. THUNDEHEART is not a piece of hunk-actor mind candy. This is a powerful (and underrated) film that demands your attention. It is well-worth it.