Skins

"Skins" is an unabashed low budget indie which tells a meager story about life on South Dakota's impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The film centers on an Indian cop/vigilante (Schweig) and his alcoholic Vietnam vet brother (Greene) and manages good character development, a semblance of story, humor, drama, and an obvious proactive Native American agenda. This austere production will be an average watch for most filmgoers while those with specific interest in Native American issues will find depth, substance, and resonance. (C+)

Note - Those interested in "Skins" might want to give "Thunderheart 1992" (also with Graham Greene) a look.

I enjoyed this film a lot. So many times are Aboriginal People shown in the Romantic Period (i.e. prairie bareback horse riding, warriors, etc) It may not be Chris' finest edit, but a well thought out film. The actors did their jobs and the film was made on the Pine Ridge Reserve. It shows both ends of the spectrum when it comes to First Natiosn people. Those effected negatively by the modern world, and those who've overcome it's tragedies.

Chris Eyre is great at getting at the truth, many people find some of the content offensive, because it touches home. People have said "this happened to my family," and this is because it has. This is real life.

The story reflects reservation life as it is: sometimes laughter is the only means of survival the people have. It depicts the conditions as they are, not only on the Pine Ridge reservation but on most of them. Graham Greene has given an excellent performance as did Eric Schweig. The special sense of humor, often only understood by the Natives, does not take away any of the gravity of the plot.

Chris Eyre has once again managed to produce an excellent combination of the spiritual and the down-to-earth life in SKINS, and he has grown to become a synonym for true Native American films.

SKINS is both entertaining and causing the viewer, though mainly those familiar with reservation life, to think about the situation which has been persisting ever since Columbus.

SKINS has revived memories of my own stays at South Dakota reservations. The world needs more films like this one so that people will come to understand that the Natives of this land are not living in teepees anymore nor do they wear bunkskin and feathers all day long.

SKINS gives a critical and true reflection of life on a reservation in the twenty-first century.

I am a huge fan of director Chris Eyre and I loved "Smoke Signals" and I think that "Skins" is even better. It resonates with truth and kindness and forgiveness and unconditional love. The subject matter is at times hard to take, but it is sound in it's reality. Everybody simply has to see this movie! What are you waiting for go!!!

I feel this movie was a good depiction of life in a poor small town (having lived in several myself.) I enjoyed that it treated Indians like regular folks just trying to find their place in the world. I am irritated by the person whining about Spike Lee and stereotypes. While Spike has contributed a body of work that provokes, he is not every black man.

According to his IMDb bio, Chris Eyre is Cheyenne and Arapaho. Those two tribes banded together with the Sioux to fight Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn or Custer's Last Stand. The reason for the movie's joke about the Crow is because they had been scouts FOR Custer.

The point of that history lesson is that Indians are no more homogenized than white folks. To imply that one person can speak for an entire race is just plain asinine.

In addition, there is a little bit of truth within every stereotype. Although alcoholism is not unique to Indians, Native Americans, natives, indigenous, aboriginals, etc... (or what ever the correct 'PC' term is this week) and I like how this movie dealt with it. I also especially enjoyed the cowboy boots with the football uniform...