Falls Around Her

I had put off seeing this because it looked slow. And it is. I watched it when ready. It's set at the pace of nature and reservation life or felt like it. The shots where nothing happening but life drew me in to Mary's quest to return to the land.

Yes, the first two thirds move pretty slowly, but it's relaxing. Like listening to npr on a sunday morning. Discussions betweent the ladies of the social group, when mary takes a break from her music career. Ice fishing. She says over and over that she just wants to retire and enjoy life in the country, with her family of first canadians. And of course, the protest at the mining property subplot, which kind of gets dropped. This film probably won't be for everyone. But it's very well done, if you have the patience. Then stuff really starts to happen in the last ten minutes. We were given hints earlier. Written and directed by darlene naponse, a canadian first nation herself. Very well done. The action and excitement fanatics probably won't find enough action, but i look forward to seeing more of her work.

Lacks story, lacks emotion, lacks movement, lacks any semblance of acting. Never quite sure what the purpose is supposed to be. Lacks excitement and as a viewer my interest is lost as the minutes seem to slowly move toward the final scene.

This movie is slow, boring, poorly acted and has the feel of a college project. It had me wondering why it was so overrated. Then I realized it's about a First Nation woman so guilt ridden American and Canadian white people felt obligated to overrate. Remove the guilt and be objective: this movie is terrible.

Very interesting and provocative story, fairly familiar I'm afraid, involving once again, native Americans and the downtrodden existence they are both content and seemingly restless in. "Mary" has been uniquely successful with her music and in retiring back to her native land, realizes and seems to accept the encroachment of the unsavory whether that be her abusive ex-manager chasing after her or the mining operations that are poisoning their native American lands. Her support group of women and a couple of men are interesting in having "one foot" in their culture and the other "foot" in contemporary life - needs and traditions that barely sustain them. The acting was what I expected and stayed fairly true to their lifestyle and culture in such a rugged environment where there are few luxuries and eking out an existence constitutes dealing with very inclement weather both scare utilities and limited goods and services. Their camaraderie is touching however and their unification is strong for such a small village of people. Tatoo Cardinal is a fine actress in her element and I've seen her in several movies the past decade where she's had somewhat pivotal roles as a native American. I'm sure this movie isn't exciting enough for many in today's world; but for those of us who have a deep and abiding respect for the culture and history of the native American Indian in various forms, it provides some relief from the repetitious if not shallow storylines that prevail. I enjoyed the story for what it presented from all angles.