Medicine River

I thought this film to be quite good since it had an all star cast in it. I really liked the storyline plot where Graham Greene was told to go back to Alberta for his mom's funeral but couldn't make it. As a result he was weeks late for it and wanted to stay a lot longer since he felt really bad about missing his mom's funeral, and what was so funny about it was that everyone in the community was coming up with ways to keep him there as long as they can.

However I think this film should have been made as a drama rather than a comedy because when a film like this starts off on a serious note such as someone getting notified that their mother had recently passed away, I think that would be reason enough for a film like this to be considered as a drama.

But......... anyways........... this is why I gave this film a 5 out of 10.

I really enjoyed this film. It has a northern flair and friendly pace. Don't expect an action thriller though. This is a warm film emphasizing the role of community in ones search for himself. It wonderfully illustrates the native American community in a positive and accurate light.

"Medicine River" is a very moving picture. It follows Will Horse Capture (Graham Greene), a Metis man, on his journey of self-discovery, as he returns to his hometown following the death of his mother. Along the way, through the help of friend Harlen Bigbear (Tom Jackson) and others, he is slowly re-introduced to many townspeople and tribal elders. This movie is beautifully scripted and acted.

Will (Graham Greene) is a photojournalist who has been through gruelling shoots in dangerous places for the sake of front page pictures in the newspapers. The movie opens with Will being imprisoned in some fictional Latin-American country ruled by the iron fist of a dictator. The only way he frees himself from his solitary makeshift cell -- really a hole in the ground -- is that he does a portrait of the dictator.

Arriving home in Toronto, Will's agent/girlfriend Ellen (Janet-Laine Green) is working to fill his already busy schedule. Then, suddenly, comes the phone call about the death of his mother on a reserve in Alberta. It is upon his arrival at the reserve he sees stark differences in his lifestyle and that of the residents.

Will discovers that he is weeks late for his mother's funeral and then tries to go home to his busy schedule. But the residents of the community try to persuade him to stay in some very funny ways including making him take photos for a yearbook and putting him on the local basketball team.

In the role of Bertha Morely, Tina Louise Bomberry shines as a co-conspirator in trying to keep Will on the reserve. She also helps to engineer the meeting of Will and pregnant Louise (Sheila Tousy) who wants to raise her child alone.

I liked this movie because Graham Greene and Tom Jackson (as Harlan) work very well together. The two are foils for each other in a similar way to comedy teams like Wayne and Shuster.

The movie as a whole says something about what we value in life and how we live it. Do we reconnect with ourselves and does life come into clearer focus when we rejoin our family roots and heritage?

While the humour is not of the belly-laugh variety, it is more gentle schtick. This movie is part of a string of positive stories about our first nations people instead of the old "angry Indian" themes we have seen in other stories on TV and in cinemas.

Worth seeing!

Medicine River, a film directed by Stuart Margolin, is somewhat of a hidden gem. Based on Thomas King's award winning novel of the same name, the story begins by introducing the lead character Will(Graham Greene). Will, a photojournalist, is imprisoned in a war torn country ruled by a gorilla dictatorship. He is freed after he agrees to take portraits of the leader, and heads back to his Toronto home to his boss/lover Ellen(Janet-Laine Green). After checking his answering machine, he learns that his brother James has left various messages regarding their mother's ill health. Will had been gone so long, that the final messages left by his brother James detailed his mother's death. On the news of his mother's death Will packs his bags and leaves for his childhood home(Medicine River, Alberta, Canada) in order to make it in time for her funeral. The only memories of the reserve was of his brother James. However, he arrives to an empty home. Fatigued by the latest events he falls asleep, only to be woken up by the town's friendly con-artist Harlan(Tom Jackson). Through some somewhat witty dailogue, Will still has no clue where his brother was. Will does discovers that he missed his mother's funeral. When he tries to go home, Harlan and some other residents of the community try to persuade him to stay to help them. If I have it correct, the town was granted a loan from the Canadian government to take pictures of local wildlife(which do not frequent their reserve). So they spent the money on jerseys for their community's basketball team, and then took out a loan to pay for the camera equipment they originally were given money for. In theory they bought the jerseys to give the team motivation to win the championship which was worth $5000...which would therefore pay for the camera loan, and in turn they can make a calendar of the locals to pay for the original loan. Will is suckered into becoming their photographer since Harlan has no idea how to run the equipment(they bought one role of film because they figured 12 months in a year, 24 exposures...more than enough...ha!) Will starts to learn about his heritage, and who he is, and falls in love with a local woman, Louise(Shiela Tousy). Does Will ever see James...you'll have to watch to find out. I started by stating that this movie is a hidden gem. The movie is fairly low-budget, made for TV, and did not have the mass hype that is associated with blockbuster movies. However, all this does not matter in regards to this film. The landscape shots really are beautiful: the plateaus, forests and rivers really capture the essence of the land. The dialogue is somewhat colloquial, it has a good mixture concerning serious issues with humor. The acting is natural, and really shows these unique individuals, and at the same time it pokes fun at society's view of the "Hollywood Indian". The humor was not knee-slapping funny, but it was a good mix of one liners and reoccurring witty remarks. I recommend this movie for anyone(ignorant and otherwise) that would like a refreshing change in pace from some of the no-brainer Hollywood pics.