Geronimo

This film was part of the revival the western genre had in the beginning of the 90's in the wake of Dances With Wolves. Not all of the westerns from this period are worth seeing (Bad Girls is a good example of that) but there are gems among them. This film, Geronimo: An American Legend being one. It makes an intelligent comment regarding the frankly despicable treatment the Apaches, among other American Indian tribes, recieved at the hands of the American government. In this lies the films strength and the presentation of this theme is the focus of the film's plot. It plays like a historical thesis or argument. This being terrific for people who are looking to know exactly what happened to the Apaches.

However, people who search for great dramaturgical nerve in films should avoid this film. Because there is none. The plot faithfully depicts the historical progress of events and refuses to completely demonize the Whites (although they clearly are being portrayed as the expansionist aggressors)in order to build a protagonist-antagonist plot-structure. This makes the movie slow, and for non-buffs a tedious experience.

Finally, the film has a terrific soundtrack by Ry Cooder and a knock-out performance by Wes Studi as Geronimo!

Brig. Gen. George Crook (Gene Hackman) leads a war on the Chiricahua to bring them to their reservation. Geronimo (Wes Studi) agrees to go in peace. Lt. Britton Davis (Matt Damon) is new from Texas. He accompanies Lt. Charles Gatewood (Jason Patric) to go bring Geronimo in. Gatewood befriends Geronimo. Al Sieber (Robert Duvall) is a scout with a proper hatred and respect for the enemy Apache. The army tries to stop a medicine man dancing and a violent incident results. Geronimo escapes the reservation with a group of Apache. That's when the Geronimo Campaign begins.

It's a historical drama without the overdramatization that normally accompanies westerns. There are no easy villains in this. The circumstances keep conspiring to force the groups to clash. There are great actors in this. Most impressive is Wes Studi. His presence makes Geronimo come alive.

Wow, where to start, I loved this movie, it's portrayal of Geronimo is complex and gives the viewer a different portrait than most westerns do. It's showing at the box office is regrettable, because it is probably one of the most honest portrayals of the travesty that was the Indian wars. This film showed how men of conscious we're asked to round up a tribe of people's who only wanted to remain free on lands they had held for over a thousand years, soldiers had to follow orders but for many the cost must have been terrible, especially when their words we're repeatedly broken by others under whom they served. But it was a different time and place with politics that few today would embrace. So much tragedy but at least this movie showed the military genius of Geronimo and allowed his name to shine for the future generations to see.

'Let's start with this: All written history is revisionist. The actual events are revisited and revised in the perspective of the "re-visitor." That said, this remarkably well written, well acted, and generally well executed movie is likely the best account of the "Geronimo Campaign" out there. Head and shoulders above much of the other junk out there about this important American figure. It is, to boot, beautifully filmed and deftly directed. And the narrative approach worked perfectly with this subject. Well worth a couple of viewing hours by anyone who sincerely wants to know what was up with all that.'

As others have said, this is an excellent example of a revisionist Western, successful both as a 'quest' film and as history. Despite minor examples of the invariable desire of film-makers to embellish events (Al Sieber in fact died years later when a rock rolled on him while he was clearing a road) this is as close as you'll get to a historically and visually accurate movie account of the pursuit of Geronimo.