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We saw it several weeks ago--
I always enjoy a movie shot on location and thought the acting was good...
Olsen was an FBI agent willing to take advice from local police--something rarely shown in movies so that was a change...
Thought the intent to use only Native Americans in those roles was honorable although one interview with the director was kind of strange because he said they tested someone for a role (Native American) who was not NA and that person was a better actor yet was passed over for one who was...
I don't know that you do your film a service when you choose race over talent--
If that person hired didn't do justice to the role then the audience failed to get the nth degree of quality because of that choice...
The violence was realistic and although not really mentioned shows the two-handed blade of having oil money/drilling come into many areas of the west in the past decade--
Lot of borderline criminals and heightened crime in areas without the resources to deal with the the increase--so the residents might see more money from their pay checks and spending but they also pay a price with more crime...and not just in areas around reservations...
We saw it several weeks ago--
I always enjoy a movie shot on location and thought the acting was good...
Olsen was an FBI agent willing to take advice from local police--something rarely shown in movies so that was a change...
Thought the intent to use only Native Americans in those roles was honorable although one interview with the director was kind of strange because he said they tested someone for a role (Native American) who was not NA and that person was a better actor yet was passed over for one who was... I don't know that you do your film a service when you choose race over talent--
If that person hired didn't do justice to the role then the audience failed to get the nth degree of quality because of that choice...
The violence was realistic and although not really mentioned shows the two-handed blade of having oil money/drilling come into many areas of the west in the past decade--
Lot of borderline criminals and heightened crime in areas without the resources to deal with the the increase--so the residents might see more money from their pay checks and spending but they also pay a price with more crime...and not just in areas around reservations...
In this day and age, if you have a movie depicting Native Americans as the center focus, then I would think it's best to make damn sure that all the actors playing Native Americans in the movie Native American themselves. There are already such few roles for them as it is. The Sheriff I recognized from Dances With Wolves.
But, I saw this movie a few days ago. Pretty good. I had issues with how a Game and Fish ranger was sent to hunt and kill predators when they are suppose to trap them and release them further away from humans. The hunting of animals and their babies while in their dens is strictly forbidden, and it's a law I back up as well because it's just cruel.
I also have issues with them sending out a rookie FBI agent on her own, when most cases they are usually paired with a more experienced agent.
No--he was killing predators that were hunting livestock--
Those animals won't stop killing like that if they are relocated--
They just move back to where they were...
And the cougar/mountain lion was training her cubs to do just the same thing
Re the rookie agent
Well, you got to have a movie
And if a more experienced agent/pair had been sent there would have been more acrimony between them doing it their way and Graham Green's sheriff doing it his way
And re the race over talent---
I guess it depends on what part they were hiring for
It is certainly possible there were other Anglos on the Rez who could have been tweeking or could have been part of the story
The review didn''t say WHAT part was filled by a less "good" choice
I think that is a very difficult question--
You want your film to succeed and honor what you are trying to do
No--he was killing predators that were hunting livestock--
Those animals won't stop killing like that if they are relocated--
They just move back to where they were...
And the cougar/mountain lion was training her cubs to do just the same thing
I work with Game and Wildlife all of the time, and their job is to protect wildlife from poachers and over hunting. If there is a rogue animal out there, then unless it is actually attacking and killing humans, they will hunt the animal down, trap it and then either relocate it to another preserve, or to a zoo. The only time they engage in actually killing an animal if it's injured, a known predator to humans, or has an incurable disease like rabies. And again, it is strictly forbidden to kill a female with her babies in their den.
Watched this again recently. Totally holds up. I think Taylor Sheridan is a better writer than director. (If you want to see a great Taylor Sheridan script in the hands of a great director, check out HELL OR HIGH WATER.) Still, WIND RIVER is a really beautiful and brutal movie. If you still haven't seen it, check it out.
It occurred to me recently that one of the signs of a great movie is rewatch value. Do I enjoy it as much or more upon rewatch? Or do I enjoy it less? WIND RIVER is definitely a movie I think I enjoy more every time I watch it. HELL OR HIGH WATER too.
Then there are other movies that I enjoyed at first, maybe even loved as a kid, that now I have a hard time even liking. FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF comes to mind. It's still definitely funny in parts, but you know what? Ferris is actually a spoiled, self-centered, colossal a-hole. And every time I rewatch THE BREAKFAST CLUB, I find myself cringing more often. Those aren't teens. Those are an adult's idealized version of teens. And then there is the pure popcorn stuff like MAN OF STEEL, which I enjoyed in the theater but find myself liking less and less every time I sit through it. It's got some great moments, yeah, but the times it drops the ball tend to destroy the rest.
Anyway, check out WIND RIVER if you haven't yet. Great movie!
Thought the intent to use only Native Americans in those roles was honorable although one interview with the director was kind of strange because he said they tested someone for a role (Native American) who was not NA and that person was a better actor yet was passed over for one who was...
I don't know that you do your film a service when you choose race over talent--
I'm not sure what interview you saw, but if they were discussing Kelsey Chow, then the reverse is actually true. She got the role because she was the best actress for the part. But her ethnic heritage is actually Chinese, not American Indian, and I think both she and Taylor Sheridan caught some flak for that when the movie first came out.
We need to find a sane balance about this issue. Yeah, the old Hollywood practice of casting OBVIOUSLY non-Native "actors" in these roles was silly. And I use "actors" in the most generous terms, since sometimes I think they grabbed a guy off the catering unit and put a wig on him.
But we need to keep in mind that the entire point of acting is to pretend to be something you're not. Let's just use a little common sense here. No one wants to see Jim Gaffigan play Frederick Douglass (including Jim Gaffigan). But it's getting to the point that if an actress is cast to play an Egyptian character and it turns out the actress is actually Israeli, people pitch a fit.
Watched this again recently. Totally holds up. I think Taylor Sheridan is a better writer than director. (If you want to see a great Taylor Sheridan script in the hands of a great director, check out HELL OR HIGH WATER.) Still, WIND RIVER is a really beautiful and brutal movie. If you still haven't seen it, check it out.
Wind River and Hell or High Water were both excellent. Taylor Sheridan wasn't on my radar until I read your post. It turns out he wrote both Sicario movies, which I also liked. He also created The TV show Yellowstone. I watched the first episode of that last night and it was superb. Now I have something else to binge watch.
Not surprising considering there are probably more crew that live in and around the Salt Lake City/Park City area, plus I'd imagine the tax credits from Utah, are better than Wyoming. And for those who have never been to the Wind River Indian Reservation, they wouldn't know or see any difference.
I would say that in regard to mountains it is next to impossible to tell one range from the other unless there is a very noticeable peak in the photo or you are the person who took the photo.
WY, ID, UT, CO or MT?
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