Oltre la riserva

I can't say enough about the sheer quality of this little film, so I won't even try. What I will say is that Gary Farmer's portrayal of Philbert was one of the sweetest characterizations I have ever seen, and he's emblazoned forever on my heart. Also outstanding was Graham Greene in a small role as a Vietnam vet suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. A Martinez, who's something of a one-trick pony, was very well suited to his role.

Depicts the struggles of reservation-dwelling Native Americans in the North Central United States. The main character is an introspective and lovable person in a process of seeking pride and identity through traditional and mystical means of gathering power. His high school friend, who is a Vietnam War Veteran, is exerting power as a highly principled social activist, using a modern rational materialist adversarial model of progress.

There really are not that many movies out there about reservation life, at least very few that come to mind. This one is excellent, however. Not just because it is a really good movie (which it is), but because of the way it portrays the characters.

It would be much too easy to paint the Cheyenne as the good guys and the "white man" as the bad guy. This is not the case. Certainly, we feel bad for the way big business wants to strip the natives of resources... but the natives are shown as less than perfect, too. Is getting ripped off bad? Of course. But does that make it acceptable to smash a store and beat a store owner? No.

Gary did an outstanding job. The best part of the movie was when Philbert went to go and wake up Buddy and was standing there in front of him butt naked. I really enjoyed Imogene's part as well. She did a great job telling Buddy of the weekly shootings and how she and Wolf wanted to move to Denver to escape the problems on the reservation. Buddy and Philbert do go on a beautiful journey to help get Buddy's sister Bonnie out of jail in New Mexico for a drug set up, that she did not know of. They truly are superb actors in this film. This movie could surely wrench anyones heart and bring tears to their eyes. I am so glad that this film was shown in my class...thanks Penny.

This movie was part of a special I saw on a German channel! Not expecting much I was completely surprised how good this drama was! The story is not that difficult or special but the way it is presented you just have to love it! It is a mix of drama and humor! Like other reviewers I praise the performance of Gary Farmer! But I also want to mention the role A. Martinez is playing! The way he shows his frustration and anger and at the same time be sympathetic is difficult to do! But he pulls it off! There are a lot of matters that don't get the attention when it comes to the United States! The native Americans (indians) ore one of them! As an European I don't know much about their situation! This movie gave me insight in a very entertaining way! From what I have seen on the screen concerning Native Americans (indians) they posses a great sense of humor! Considering what they have been through and what is happening to them now that is simply amazing! I love these kind of stories because they are down to earth and in this case also very funny!

This film has a lot of heart. Gary Farmer's character is one of the most likeable in recent memory. His dignity, kindness and spirituality are inspiring and endearing. Few films work so subtlely to create such an indelible, sympathetic and wholly uplifting message. Set amid the vile conditions faced by Cherokee reservation natives, the movie has much to say to all about responsibility, justice and above all, love. Can't recommend this film highly enough!