Rebecca - Eine Frau auf der Suche nach sich selbst

Such conflict within my soul! Oh the torment! On one hand, the acting in this TV movie is just excellent. Mercedes Ruehl, the lead, is wonderful as Rebecca, as is her husband (Jamey Sheridan), the ever good-lookin Ned Romero as her dad, and Julia McIlvaine as her eldest daughter. So that makes it hard for me to say that the casting ruined the movie.

I simply could *not* get past the fact that Ruehl is supposed to be a full-blood Dine. I was so confused when I realized that neither her mom nor dad was supposed to be white--I assumed the character was half-white. Maybe possibly sorta kinda (given the unpredictability of genetics) Ruehl could pass as half-Dine, but even that's pushing it. She isn't Native at all, although she could certainly 'pass' as a quarter. But not Navajo! (For that matter, a bunch of the Indian actors don't look Navajo at all, but I can get past that because it's so normal (Irene Bedard has played a Navajo role a zillion times, but even she and the other sisters, including the awesome Tamara Podemski, look nothing alike). Even worse, the girl who plays the young Rebecca looks so white that it's jarring to see her in a shot with her birth mother, all while knowing that her dad is supposed to be Ned Romero (who does look Navajo in his old age). I would also complain about casting Julia McIlvaine as her elder daughter, who clearly isn't half Dine but rather could've stepped right off the Nina, the Pinta, or the Santa Maria (the younger daughter could presumably have just gotten 80% recessive genes, but she wasn't very convincing either). But this is based on a true story, and indeed, I do know mixed-race families where someone impossibly comes out with blondish hair (like my cousin)...and then there are all those 1/128 blonde Cherokees, of course. But STILL! So hard to get past. And, as great as Mercedes Ruehl was, there are plenty of excellent Native actresses her age who could've been casted instead. Why not Sheila Tousey? She could have totally pulled off this character (and is light-skinned enough to be convincingly racially ambiguous in her prior life). Enough complaining, but I hate that I can't put this on my Good Indian Movies list (see my Listmania) because of this glaring problem. Tragic! Indeed!

On the other hand, because this is based on a true story, there's a great deal of non-Hollywood realism here that I really appreciated. Aside from the totally cheesy Hallmark soundtrack and Wise Indian Elder lines they made Tantoo Cardinal say, the relationships and family dynamics played out with such genuineness, and that's what really makes you care about the story. The cultural dissonance played out really effectively, too, and had enough tension to make you feel it and invest in the characters more. (Although--I felt that some of that dissonance was presented in too much of a one-sided way and could make white viewers see Navajo culture in a negative light.) I'm torn (oh woe!) on the last positive, too...I thought they presented a really broad sense of life on that particular rez from the average school to the community center, but there were also times when I also felt they were kinda making things seem more 'exotic' than they really are. I mean, where were the schoolkids listening to rap? Where was the bingo? But as a whole, I thought the story was engaging and well told. I'm interested in checking out the book now.

This movie, which is based on a true story, has a lot going for it, but in some ways it moved too slowly, and I watched it in three sittings. Rebecca was adopted as a young child by a Jewish couple. Her mother adores her, but becomes ill and dies when she is a teenager. After that, her father gets aloof and marries a woman who obviously doesn't want Rebecca around.

Thus, off she goes to boarding school, and then later joins the Navy. (In real life, the real "Rebecca" also went to Israel, became a soldier, and was wounded in a war!) She then marries a builder, has two daughters and a happy family life. After the girls are born, she searches for her real family, and finds no information, yet then searches again years later.

That second search has her discovering she was a Navajo child, with a twin brother, who was illegally taken away from her real parents when they were born sickly and taken to a "white" hospital. Rebecca goes to visit her biological family, taking the girls with her. That family firmly embraces her and makes her feel like she belongs not only to them, but also to their Navajo tribe.

Rebecca then gets her husband to come out to Arizona and see if they can live there as a family. While she is swooned by it all, her husband and 13-year-old eldest daughter have some major problems on the reservation. This is where the story seemed to be moving too slowly. Yet there are some wonderful scenes, especially those involving Rebecca's biological father.

Her father Yazzi is very wise and gives very wise advice to all. Moreover, he truly encircles her with real fatherly love, so unlike her adoptive father. Her Navajo mother has sadly died, so she never meets her, but her aunt tells her many stories about her mother that make her vividly alive in Rebecca's mind. Will she and her family stay on the reservation? Or will they decide it's not the type of life they can live forever?

There is a lot in this movie. Not just a wide variety of emotions but also different cultures, different places, different circumstances, different people. And yet unless you dig into these different things and absorb them, the movie will seem very slow in a lot of places.

Rebecca's backstory is pretty sad. Apparently she was a Navajo baby who was stolen from a hospital. Then she was passed from family to family which seems strange since someone went to the trouble to steal her. Finally she finds a mother who wants to keep her and when Becky is a teen, mom dies. When dad remarries, the new wife doesn't want her. At one point there is a scene in the rain where Becky's words to the new wife just sucked breath out of me, they were so heartbreaking. She wanders in life for a while finally marrying a good man and raising two daughters.

In searching for her twin brother, Becky finds relatives who are Navajo, including her father and sisters. That's when cultures clash. For most part the clash isn't violent, but still difficult. A shock. Becky makes choices that are difficult and create a lot of tension. The life she is choosing is not easy. She's finding that being Navajo is not easy.

In the latter half of the movie there are situations that increases the drama and the tension so that the pace doesn't seem so slow.

I found it interesting that the very last movie I watched had Jamey Sheridan in it and there were several parallels that were striking. The parallels in both involved his character's daughters. Another thing I found very interesting is the juxtaposition of ethnicities. This Navajo girl is raised Jewish.

The acting is good by many of the players. But what is striking about the movie is the depth it goes into on a variety of subjects. It is not a fun movie and much of it is not upbeat, but it is a good one. My rating reflects more how I felt about the tone rather than the quality of the movie.

At the end of the film there is a statement that it is based on true story, but some things were changed. I have read all the other comments here and I can agree with much of the criticism. The lead actress does not look like a Navajo. Why could they not cast a Native American woman for this part? There are other women in the cast who are Native American and they were all good actresses. I suspect it was typical Hollywood crap ... "no one will want to see it unless it has a lead actress who is already known." The men who control the money always want to make changes. Film making is a business, after all. Artistic integrity and factual honesty are usually sacrificed.

That being said, this is still a good story about an (illegally) adopted child seeking her birth parents. Since it is based on a true story (see one of the other comments for the name of the book) I suggest that anyone who wants a better and more honest version of the story should read the book. That's what I am going to do.

Excellent film. Mercedes Ruehl gave an excellent performance as Rebecca. One of the outstanding features of this film is the demonstration that people can succeed in spite of childhood rejection. Scenery was gorgeous. I have viewed this film several times and each time I am inspired by its content, quality, and Rebecca's persistence in finding her natural family. I plan to read the book.