The Exiles (1961) ****

Tommy, Homer have a drink

Alcohol pervades many of the scenes in The Exiles. Many, if not all, of these scenes are never of these Arizona natives wallowing in misery but laughing and having a grand ol' time - and drink. You can smell it on their breath and clothes its presence is so strong. The modern native bears little to no resemblance to the native of old except in name. The people that inhabit this bygone Los Angeles are driven only by pop rock, fast cars, easy women, and booze. Spanning 24 hours, this is one restless, restless night.

For those unaware, alcohol has been an ongoing dilemma for native American populations at large. Many are consumed by drink and subsequent depression; they find themselves spiraling downward but incapable of dropping the habit. It is only one of the many things they have unfortunately become victims to from white America - along with ill-fated treaties and cultural genocide. It is a reality that has only become more prominent since The Exiles was produced and it is almost revelatory in that Kent Mackenzie (writer, producer, editor, director) was sensitive to this issue decades ago.

It's an admittedly strange film however. More than one account has referred to the movie as a documentary but it isn't. And yet it is. The mouths don't necessarily match the spoken dialogue like a Fellini film. It's shot in a way that makes the film look unmistakably set up. But the characters - the narration in particular - speaks truth. It is as if the natives want to believe this reel world they are currently in is make-believe; when they wake from this dream, they will see themselves back on unfettered land ready to hunt and play. Underlying their laughter is the abrasion of two cultures striking against one another, the need to "progress" and urbanize in order to survive and thrive- all the while preserving their own histories and cultures.

The most poignant words are spoken by Yvonne, Homer's wife:

"I used to pray every night we'd fall into bed and asked for something that I wanted and I never got it or it seems like my prayers were never answered. So I just gave up and now I don't hardly go to church or don't say my prayers sometimes. Well I stopped going to church and all that already. But I haven't started drinking or hanging around Main Street yet."

Yvonne, like some natives, has taken the white man at his word. She is genuinely trying to assimilate in the hopes for better futures for her children to be. She wants them to learn English and go to white schools. For her, God no longer refers to the elements and oral creation stories but the Christian God. She has given the white man the benefit of the doubt only to be severely disappointed. Much like the countless paper treaties, this is yet another tally to the list of failures and broken promises. Nevertheless, she's hopeful - but her final "yet" suggests her patience is running thin. At some point, she will break and succumb. However, this is why the final minutes of the movie prove illuminating for me. So as not to risk spoiling the ending, I will merely say when all else fails, start from the beginning. It's unprecedented in that the film forecasts a collective conscious that would come to develop in current American Indian-U.S. relations.