DreamKeeper

I always regarded Hallmark as "the TV channel that I can skip over". That is until I saw this movie. I was lucky enough to flip past it just at the begining while I was waiting for my friend to get ready for a party we were supposed to go to. We didn't go. We watched this instead.

After having seen as many movies as I (who hardly does anything else) this was a very welcome break from the monotony of the standard portrayal of the native americans. I am not a native american (or even american, I'm european) but still it was very nice to get to see "the other side of the story". Next to the story I need to applaud the many outstanding performances by the actors and actresses, of which regretably none so far is well known. Also to be noted is some exceptional cinematography combined with great special effects (for a TV movie).

Great story, which has something to say. Great acting/directing. Great cinematic craftsmanship. What else could be asked from a movie?

Had it been produced by a movie theater production company it would have become a huge hit, but unfortunately it will now probably be lost among the TV movie onslaught.

If you have a chance to see this: take it.

I was frankly shocked to see something this good on commercial TV. A great story, great acting, great cinematography, and so true in every detail. How it ever got by the ABC execs I'll never know, since it's just miles ahead of the usual garbage they present. Of course it tanked in the ratings, but I don't think it was promoted too well. The one gripe I had was the constant and lengthy commercial breaks that thoroughly broke up the flow (well, I guess that's how they paid for it...). How about PBS picking up the actors, crew, consultants and writers for a series? Yoohoo, Ken Burns where are you??

They did a great job with this movie. Alot of care was put in to ensure authenticity and accuracy, from identifying each tribe with their sacred stories and proper language use to ensuring costumes were correct for tribes and time periods, even down to including the "wannabe" character who tags along through part of the plot. The intertwined theme related to gang activity and violence is also very true. Pine Ridge is one of the toughest places in America to grow up in. With a spiritual attachment to ancestral lands and close family ties, very few people really want to strike out on there own; and with no industry near the reservation, these two facts combine to an 80% unemployment rate. Alcoholism, drug abuse and gang violence make rez life as dangerous as the toughest big city neighborhoods of New York and LA.

This film took several months to produce and employed thousands of Native Americans, from actors and actresses to extras, film crew members and laborers.

The special effects accurately portray imagery of spirit characters without getting engrained in fantasia and the typical new-agey romanticized look-and-feel that some recent Indian movies have (say "Dances with Wolves").

Great Indian TV movie. Great performances from almost all of both young and older Hollywood Native American actors/actresses. It's too bad that most of the general public doesn't know these guys's names from Adam but they are all great perfomances in this tele-film. Very cool Native American mythology stories & I'm always into films with the great Eddie Spears and Michael Greyeyes. If you didn't see this when it aired on ABC then check it out when it comes to DVD/Video. Hopefully, one day Hollywood will have a great well-known Native American actor/actress & then hopefully never again will they use Asian,Polynesian or Hispanic actors to play American Indians again. Thankfully, as far as i could tell this film stayed true to the storyline and stories & made sure that they had authentic full to half-blooded American Indian actors. **** out of *****

This film is, by far, one of the most thoughtful, authentic and

entertaining films related to the Native American experience and

storytelling that I have ever seen. Few people know that there are

over 500 different Native tribes in North America alone. This film is

a great, educational experience. It combines stories from ten

different tribes related to love, courage and redemption.

The acting is strong and the storyline works well as it drifts

between the contemporary story of a young teen driving his

grandfather across country to the First Nations pow wow, and the

timeless stories. Please watch this film.