Geronimo, Dull Knife, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph
Skins is a more serious, socially conscious sophomore effort directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals). Although not as tight in terms of narrative, there was nevertheless a lot of depth.
On a micro scale, it is about two brothers - one cop, the other a drunk - who love each other in that annoyed sort of way. However, they don't realize this until they understand the harm they do to one another. And as much as I enjoy watching Graham Greene work, Eric Schweig steals the show here with a key scene that reveals a bare humanity in grief that is truly courageous.
On a much larger scale, it confronts the realities of daily life for many natives who cannot stave away drink and live in conditions comparable to the third world. Eyre even seems to suggest that tribal police, despite believing they are helping their own people, do harm to fellow natives also.
What makes this a hard watch at times is knowing full well that the story draws heavily from the hardships faced on the Pine Ridge reservation, home of the Oglala Sioux. I was never aware that the heads of the four famous presidents carved on Mt. Rushmore are carved upon the Black Hills - a region sacred to the Lakota. But I suppose for natives who empathize with the struggles portrayed in Skins, the closing minutes might serve as a sort of cleansing of the soul that has long been denied in their history.
On a micro scale, it is about two brothers - one cop, the other a drunk - who love each other in that annoyed sort of way. However, they don't realize this until they understand the harm they do to one another. And as much as I enjoy watching Graham Greene work, Eric Schweig steals the show here with a key scene that reveals a bare humanity in grief that is truly courageous.
On a much larger scale, it confronts the realities of daily life for many natives who cannot stave away drink and live in conditions comparable to the third world. Eyre even seems to suggest that tribal police, despite believing they are helping their own people, do harm to fellow natives also.
What makes this a hard watch at times is knowing full well that the story draws heavily from the hardships faced on the Pine Ridge reservation, home of the Oglala Sioux. I was never aware that the heads of the four famous presidents carved on Mt. Rushmore are carved upon the Black Hills - a region sacred to the Lakota. But I suppose for natives who empathize with the struggles portrayed in Skins, the closing minutes might serve as a sort of cleansing of the soul that has long been denied in their history.
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