Windtalkers (2002) ***1/2

Preston and Frank Toledo, July 1943

Language is quite possibly the most powerful tool ever created; it has the power to inspire as well as destroy. In the case of World War II, it allowed the U.S. marines to prevail in victory over the Japanese. The Navajo code talkers, using their own language nonetheless, gave the U.S. a decisive advantage due to the fact that the Japanese code breakers could never "decipher" their transmissions. Another fact I wasn't aware of is that the Navajo language wasn't the only one in use but in researching, I discovered the Basque, Comanche, Choctaw, and the Cherokee were also employed in the same manner in both World Wars.

Directed by John Woo, Windtalkers is like an action film draped in war clothing. The battle scenes aren't like the ones in Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers but more like Woo's own Hong Kong ultra-violent gun flicks like The Killer and Hard-Boiled which are classics of the genre. That high-octane "bullet ballet" style is very visible here and one wonders if the movie could've worked better had he restrained it. Nevertheless, in terms of Hollywood action, it delivers quite well - albeit at the cost of shoving the code talkers to the background instead of at the fore as the title would suggest. A definite plus here though is the representation of Navajo cultural characteristics such as the language as well as the strong emphasis of turquoise among the people themselves. Also, Adam Beach turns in a strong performance here but Roger Willie (Navajo) as Whitehorse is arguably the surprise standout here. He brings a lot of class and does his role justice.

As polished and Hollywood as this movie may be, I enjoyed it very much despite its couple setbacks. Regardless of the issues some may have with its authenticity or lack of full representation, at least the story's been told. I never knew about this aspect of the war until this film came out and I figure that must speak for something.

Four Sheets to the Wind (2007) *****

Tamara Podemski in Four Sheets

Four Sheets to the Wind is the kind of native American film I've been waiting to see for a long time now. It's a film involving native Americans but not about them. Essentially, they are seen as persons first, native second. A few references are made to the fact that they are Seminoles (rightly dubbed the "unconquered people") but that's it. This is primarily a small story about how a family copes with the untimely loss of their father and it's a beautiful, natural movella (movie novella) of sorts. It's as though you're simply dropping in on real people with real lives and you're just along on the ride for a little while.

The ultra-natural performances by Podemski (Saulteaux/Israeli) and Lightning (Plains Cree) are top notch and are the ones that primarily connected me to their struggle. But another background standout was Jeri Arredondo as their mother; however brief, her presence seemed to anchor the cast as well as the family. This is writer-director Sterlin Harjo's first feature outing and an incredible debut at that; he has a distinctive voice that seems to speak the truth and cinema could always use more honesty. He is currently writing Barking Water according to IMDB; it doesn't state whether or not he's directing it but regardless, I'm looking forward to his next work.

Grey Owl (1999) ***1/2

September 18, 1888 - April 13, 1938

A film directed by the multi-faceted Richard Attenborough (Gandhi), here is a simple, straightforward biopic about Grey Owl who was born Archibald Belaney. As one might derive from his birth name, he indeed adopted the Grey Owl moniker later on in life when his curiosities for nature and native culture were deep-seated and came into fruition. That unfortunately derided his stature and reputation as a representative of the Ojibwa peoples as well as an outspoken conservationist not unlike John Muir. His breadth of life serves as a prime example of the adage: it's not where you're from but where you're at.

I had the pleasure of watching this in class for Native American Studies and although the initial sight of Pierce Brosnan in native attire was jarring (I couldn't get the thought of Remington Steele out of my head), he managed to play down his accent for the length of the picture and pull off a respectable portrait of the man. Aside from the bio, a great reason to watch this is to simply hear the actual native Canadians speak in their beautiful language with such fluency and modesty. Another gem in viewing this is to get a general idea of the waning fur trapping industry during his time in Canada. He ultimately gave up such prospects and led a mental paradigm in terms of ecological awareness that is just now bursting at the seams all around the world. Of course, we now refer to it simply as global warming.

Also an author, his autobiographical books are what ultimately led him to pursue his hesitant motivations. Eventually going on to speak in public exhibitions, it is ample to note that Attenborough himself also caught one of these sessions at the famed Palladium theatre along with his brother and was very affected and moved by his presence.

Flags of Our Fathers (2006) ****

Ira Hamilton Hayes

January 12, 1923 - January 24, 1955

This may seem like an odd choice in terms of native representation in film as well as a first review for a blog devoted to archiving native American voices in cinema but in my opinion, this is just as good a beginning as any. After all, Clint Eastwood's Flags is a film that portrays a broad spectrum of the American experience - not much different from the reality that is this country. The reason why I chose this is particularly due to its somewhat subsidiary, yet nevertheless prominent emphasis on Ira Hayes who was the Pima forbearer of the American flag on Iwo Jima. However brief, his presence is a clear punctuation of the post-war experience of many natives; severe alcoholism is a mass contagion for all native peoples and is one of the primary causes of death among them. To add furthermore, he was yet another case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which affected veterans of all colors and creeds. Despite this, he had a considerable stint which notably had him raise the flag once again in the 1949 John Wayne film The Sands of Iwo Jima. But he was a man who abhorred the mechanics of fame and was found dead lying in his own pool of vomit and blood near his Gila River reservation in Arizona.

The film itself is a very good companion to the otherwise superior Letters from Iwo Jima also directed by Eastwood. Adam Beach bears a ghostly resemblance to Hayes and proves once again that he is a competent and versatile actor among the Hollywood upstarts today. But anything else I say would more than likely just reiterate what many others have already said; it's a film worth viewing subsequently followed by Letters.

Hayes is not a unique case though in the annals of American military history. Natives have always been great contributors to cause and country; I recall the use of the Navajo language to essentially build a "code" that was rendered indecipherable to the enemy which was utilized during World War II (this was also the premise of a film called Windtalkers starring Nicholas Cage). It's a curious wonder though that natives will enlist in the Army and fight for a country that has done virtually nothing but wrong to them; perhaps it is the ancient spirit that yearns and clamors for honorable confrontations as I recall reading an elder say that they fight because it is in their blood to fight. After all, it is better to be oppressed by one tyrant as opposed to two.