Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)

Touches You

The Worst Film Ever

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I recently found this movie in searching for Dee Brown's book at the local public library. I recall reading the book when it first came out, decades ago, and I was fascinated--a history book that I could not put down, just like The Exorcist (the book) when I first read it. Dee Brown's book was also a horror story, and the major horror was that it was real.So knowing absolutely nothing about the movie, I borrowed it, thinking that it would be essentially a documentary. Was I wrong! I should have just checked out the book and read it again. Historic atrocities can only be properly dramatized by extraordinarily gifted filmmakers. Anything else is a reduction. But perhaps it is better if someone stumbles upon the Native American genocide done up as a popcorn movie, than never to have any idea at all.The NY Times review complained of some rather obvious analogies to Iraq and Afghanistan. That further illustrates the reduction--would anyone dare use the Holocaust as an analogy for anything else? I don't fault the production, which was polished and accomplished. But HBO should have passed on this.

It's no secret that movies mix a lot of fiction with the facts. This film seems to have rubbed both history buffs and fans of the book the wrong way, but I thought it was a compelling, evocative film nevertheless.Starting off where most movies end, at a CGI created overhead shot of The Little Big Horn (!), this instead focuses on the final years of the Unions war against the Indian nations, culminating in the massacre at Wounded Knee.There's a really great role for Adam Beach, as a young Souix doctor, who's father turned his back on the native ways and sent him to live amongst whites at a young age, stripping him of his identity.August Schellenberg is excellent here as Sitting Bull, who's determination and pride stokes the anger of the powers that be, including Aiden Quinn, a sympathetic but patronizing Senator who has taken it upon himself to lead the Indians on a path to "civilization".Anyone who watched the myriad Cavalry pictures and Little Big Horn epics should see this and find out how the whole sad story ends.

Having just spent the past 18 months studying Native American philosophy and having just returned from a week at Cherokee, learning the language and culture up close, I can say this film does help express the complex and heart-rending story of the relationship between the invaders and the conquered in our years 1870-1890.For those who have been critical of the film (on this site), I should note from a White Woman's point of view, this is about all that Whites can absorb of the "full" story and emotions as a first contact. Yes, more can be told and should be told. But it's a start.Perhaps this is the beginning of a revival of compassion and cross-cultural understanding.In 1775, Dragging Canoe, a Cherokee, said, "We are not yet conquered." It has taken 200 years. Let's hope he was right.

alright i agree with u guys. this movie just took two parts of the book and ignored the rest. but i was thrilled by Adam Beach's performance of Charles Eastman. beach plays the role brilliantly. so criticize not the actors especially beach. he keeps getting these roles because he is a great actor even better than that damned old Russell means who is known for his terrible acting in the so- called great movie Pocahontas. Schellenburg played Sitting Bull very well i thought. i do realize that Geronimo should have been featured in the movie and also Chief Joesph should have been told about in the story. This movie was great but what it lacked was that it didn't tell the complete story