Beans

Based on a true events from the life of director/co-writer Tracey Deer: in the summer of 1990, the town of Oka, Quebec has allowed an expansion of a golf course to be built on sacred burial grounds of the First Nations Mohawk people. Tekehentakhwa aka Beans (played by Kiawentiio Tarbell) is a pre-teen Mohawk whose coming-of-age is greatly tainted by the battle of her people against nearby locals and the police.

This film is a very welcome account of one of the worst periods in recent Canadian history. The fact that it is personal makes it even more welcome.

Deer shows great skill especially in filming some very grueling battle/conflict scenes. The personal stories, though, have a somewhat mixed result. Scenes of Beans' emulation of a pair of older neighbourhood siblings (a rough girl and her attractive brother, also rough) are sometimes unconvincing and uncomfortable. But the scenes of her family (parents and a younger sister) are always deeply moving. They cover life's usual growing pains that are exacerbated by the conflict and the exposure of a wicked prejudice. And they are highlighted by the solid performance of Rainbow Dickerson who plays Beans' mother, Lily. Lily is the central force of the family and in her community especially in a scene when she gathers other women in a bold, courageous act that prevents a disaster. Dickerson has all that it takes in her portrayal of this major character and life-force.

The use of historical news footage of the conflict is very powerful. So is the mention of the fact that some locals were in economic hardship as a result of the blockades while not using this an excuse for terrible actions. This is also a very timely film considering recent discoveries of past horrors involving Canadian residential schools and the cruel treatment of the late Joyce Echaquan at a Quebec hospital.

Relevant and powerful. - dbamateurcritic.

It is a REALLY good movie.

The child/adolescence point of view is well worked, and, although Beans, her family and other characters did not exist, the Oka situation was real, and was one of the many ugly (to say the list) faces of Canada/Quebec.

But, please, keep in mind that the Oka trouble took place in 1990, and the Mohawks involved hadn't politics, money and other ideologies in mind.

They just wanted their sacred ground to be respected.

Exactly the opposite of some groups nowadays.

So, if have stomach to see some ugly scenes of violence and discrimination against peacefull people, watch it.

I stopped watching about 2/3 through. The mom, in an overwrought scene, had shortly before driven through the gauntlet of stone-throwing, white yahoos while the police (SQ?) merely watched. But what made me throw in the towel was the way the filmmaker chose to develop the "friendship" between Beans and her rougher peers. That didn't work for me at all. I'm assuming those youthful relationships and the incipient awakening of the heroine from a protected innocence was meant as a metaphor for First Nations society, but I don't know.

The lack of nuance in the storytelling and a lack of historical footage that captured the racism encountered in the course of daily life off-reserve, during the blockade prevented me from feeling what I had hoped for.

In both the storytelling and performances "Beans" is packed full of tenderness and heart wrenching moments. It captures the Mohawk experience of this conflict through the eyes of a young girl who is simultaneously trying to navigate young adulthood. Beautifully done and highly recommended.

Seriously, this movie blew me away. Kiawentiio may be very young, but her talent feels beyond her years. Also some other familiar faces Paulina Alexis and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai from Reservation Dogs. Literally lightning in a bottle casting for this debut film by Tracey Deer. So much that I cant imagine her ever topping this and yet she most definitely will. I was fortunate enough to see it virtually during its festival circuit, but now that it's available for purchase, I've bought it and rewatched already. This is just the kind of movie that reminds you why you love movies! And being someone who has forgotten for a while, it's a breath of fresh air to remember.