Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993) *****

Kanehsatake is Mohawk reservation land located in southwest Quebec, Canada. The events in the film are set into motion when the city decides to build a golf course on that land. Despite outcries from natives, whites, and even a sensible course of action suggested by an environmental specialist, the mayor ignores all of them and gives the project the green light. Of course, the Mohawk peoples were having none of it and blocked off any access to their lands. And so the military siege of 1990 began.

And Alanis Obomsawin, an Abenaki filmmaker noted for documenting contemporary Canadian natives and their struggles, has captured in the details what has been duly seen in the big picture since the periods of contact in North America. There are many moments of the military covering up truths, breaking negotiated promises, and inflicting harm upon the natives. To be fair, some of the natives (the warriors in particular) retaliate in similar fashion but it's just that - retaliation. In effect, as the subtitle of the film suggests, nothing has changed.

Simply put, it is a stunning document of the total native reality expressed in mere months. Modernization may have enriched the physical that surrounds us but our collective spirit, the manner in which we treat one another, is bankrupt. It was the way of things way back when, and sadly, it remains the way of things now. And unless a man or woman of native descent is able to head either of these nations, it is highly doubtful the state of things will change anytime soon. Yet, at the very least, one must appreciate a work like this for keeping a record of the great ongoing struggle. I truly believe a time will come to pass when the struggle will be no more. And documents such as these will remind future generations how far their peoples have come.

Note: The entire film is available to view online.
http://www.archive.org/details/kanehsatake

Nanook of the North (1922) ****

Nanook

I've seen this film a total of three times now. I never really knew what to think of it then. I really don't know what to think of it now either. However, the last two times, I experienced it as a member of the audience. Today, I began to see it as Flaherty might have envisioned.

There are many qualms over the film's documentary status. For those who aren't aware, many significant details were fabricated by Flaherty to romanticize the Inuit way of life and their sense of alienation from the Western world and its technological advances - despite the fact that the Inuit actually served as key crew members during the making of this film and even used rifles to hunt for their food.

This is how I came to see the film: a documentary. But I learn that the full title was once Nanook of the North: A Story of Life and Love in the Actual Arctic. The key word here is story. It must be known that Flaherty was less a filmmaker and more a trader. A hired hand, he was sent out to analyze the potential for railways and minerals. He came into frequent contact with the Inuit during these expeditions and that's how the project came to fruition. He set his sights on commercial distribution and audiences clamoring for narrative fiction rather than the actualities of early cinema. The only true documentary value of Nanook is the actual Arctic. The rest is arguably just that: a story. In light of these discoveries, I now see this film more as fiction rather than documentary. I find that more easy to stomach.

But regardless of how one categorizes Nanook, its images are compelling. The events that take place are foreign to most everyone in the world - a real fantasy. Fortunately, remnants of this fantasy still seem preserved to some extent as witnessed in the film Atarnajuat (reviewed earlier). Perhaps it is not as easy to embrace the modern world in an area as harsh as the Arctic. In any case, I still saw visions of Nanook in Atarnajuat. I wonder if the Inuit would agree. If they did, that would be a testament to Flaherty - fabricated or not.

Avatar (2009) ****1/2

Jake Sully and Neytiri

An achievement. A milestone. A breakthrough. I can say all these things and they would not overrate what Avatar simply is. Other movies have done 3D but James Cameron, like a god, has created a living, breathing world out of the process. Having experienced it tonight in IMAX 3D, never have I felt more lost in a world. There were shots and scenes that momentarily had me believing I was there. Never have I felt this way with any other movie. Ever. No matter how great a film may be, I always know in the back of my head: this is a movie. It is as Jake Sully comes to believe: the dream is becoming more a reality, the reality more a dream. As of right now, Avatar is the epitome of postmodern in cinema.

However, the one gripe I have (and it's a very minor gripe) is the 3D in motion. There was a bit too much motion blur for my taste. Particularly in the first 15 minutes or so. Perhaps I wasn't used to the 3D look. After all, it's not very often I watch a 3D movie - let alone one I actually want to watch. The ironic thing is the 3D was at its best when most subtle. It had an inexplicable immersive quality to the images. Like depth of field but with... more depth.

Now that I've got that out of the way, there is another aspect of the film that had me just as captivated: the culture, the people. Their dress, language, and sense of cohesion with their world evoked the Native spirit. The sources of the story undeniably drew from the history of the Natives as well. How the more technologically advanced society came along and drew blood whenever these people got in the way of what they wanted. It is exactly what is at stake in Avatar. It is an old story to be sure and the movie has received quite a bit of flack for its derivative plot but I feel that is one of its strengths when viewing the overall picture. After all, this isn't about the story. This is about the experience. And the experience of living among the Natives is one of the great pleasures of Avatar (as well as realizing Wes Studi is voicing one of the Na'vi). No one thinks about the story when you mention The Jazz Singer. You think of it as that movie that had sound. This one isn't going to be any different decades from now.

I can imagine real Native audiences watching Avatar and coming away with a sense of pride for who they are. In fact, I believe they will. Movies, in a traditional sense, have always been ideal representations of our reality. The way we wish the real world was. Well, I could see Native people walking away from this movie empowered. Inspired. After all, movies can do that, can't they? I believe all marginalized populations (and the majority) should watch Avatar. And let the experience instill hope, passion, as well as compassion. For me, the film really is that powerful.

Skinwalkers (2002) ***1/2

Leaphorn (Wes Studi) and Chee (Adam Beach)

Adapted from a Tony Hillerman novel, Chris Eyre takes a step out of his comfort zone and tries his hand at a (cultural) thriller. The story, although entertaining, is pretty standard fare. However, the attention to Navajo people and details keeps this one from becoming forgettable. In fact, for a genre that tends to emphasize twists and turns, the focus on characterization and culture in this movie is refreshing.

The basic plot follows a string of murders involving victims who are medicine men. There are sacred paintings done in blood to go along with them. Chee believes there could be some connection to the skinwalkers (evil shapeshifters) of Navajo stories. And thus, their pursuit for the murderer begins.

I will not go into further detail in terms of plot. There's actually quite a lot going on despite the familiarity of the story. Besides, what is more intriguing is the deeper conflict going on between tradition and modernity - more specifically, native medicine and white medicine. The movie is utterly predictable. But this ongoing (and very real) conflict is what gives the movie legs to walk on.

Finally, I commend Eyre for taking on genre and populating it with native people. It is much like the film Better Luck Tomorrow (starring Asian-American actors) in that the story is old hat but it is made new by giving the main roles - traditionally filled by white actors - to others. Of course, it is admirable to create unique stories with minority actors. But to change cultural perceptions of people, one must be willing to make changes to the established system. And tackling established genres like these opens doors for actors of color to do the same kinds of roles in more mainstream productions rather than the same Injun, straight A student, cholo, or rapper because Hollywood will realize more and more that we can do them - and more importantly, that audiences will respond positively to such change.

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.

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) ****

Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) and his brother Amaqjuaq (The Strong One)

In a way, it was what I expected. And then it wasn't. I expected Inuit customs, traditions, people. However, I didn't expect it to be shot on video. I didn't expect it to blur the lines between documentary and fiction. Based on an old Inuit legend, the story told is undoubtedly fiction. But it also has strong ethnographic characteristics; much of their way of life and daily activities are not shown in tight montages. Instead, they are shown in full as if to preserve their culture on film for future generations to model themselves after. It can be a challenging watch but also undeniably rewarding.

The legend, as told in the film, basically has Atanarjuat take a girl named Atuat - who was promised to another man named Oki. It conjures bad blood and so a bitter rivalry begins that extends past these two - plaguing their families in the process. In the age of Hollywood, a story like this is old hat. But it just goes to prove that movies aren't necessarily about what it is but how it is. And how it's done in The Fast Runner has a maturity to it one doesn't find in typical Hollywood outputs. It understands what the loss of life means for those who live on. It understands that we can easily forgive - but not easily forget. Endings aren't exactly happy here. But they are reasonable.

Now, upon experiencing this, I couldn't help but be constantly reminded of Nanook of the North, the landmark "documentary" by Robert Flaherty. It also charted the Inuit people and their way of life just as it is done here. It has been a long time since I've seen that film and am curious to see the differences between the two. But the chief difference here is that The Fast Runner is shot and told from an Inuit perspective. Much, if not all, of the production was headed by its own people and the spirit shows. It doesn't feel artificial. It feels genuine. Regardless of whether it was released in 2001 or 1901, I imagine the film would've accurately portrayed the Inuit people. In all respects, Atanarjuat is timeless.

Through Navajo Eyes (1972)

Sol Worth and John Adair, the authors of this book, headed out to Pine Springs and sought permission to carry out their experiment. The answer they received is curious yet enlightening in its necessity: What can film do for our people? It's a question I've often asked myself. Why make films? What are they in the grand scheme of things? I've often felt art only exists to differentiate humans from the animals. Perhaps that is what film is. It is merely confirmation.

That is why the question is surprising. The Navajo ask not what can it do for us spiritually, but on a more modest scale, what can it do for us economically. Arguably, film will not do much for them if anything unless they have aspirations to become successful filmmakers in Hollywood (read: none). The question is valid. It could be justified for the Navajo to say this whole filmmaking business is child's play, nonsense to pass the time. And that is not the Navajo. The contents of this book will have you discover that they are very productive people and this shows in the films the selected group goes on to make.

The experiment is simply to observe how the Navajo students make their films, what their films are about, and their reasons for making them - all with little to no interference on part of the experienced "white" filmmakers. This is all much easier said than done as they occasionally feel the need to teach them "proper" ways to frame shots, tell them to shoot this or that, and edit in ways pleasing to "white" audiences. But they realize differences are prevalent because the Navajo see the world in ways far different from ours. It had nothing to do with a lack of technique or experience and this is related thoroughly in practice films made. Upon showing their films to a Navajo audience, the one film that most resembled the artistry of white film practices was considered confusing, and yes, "white" whereas the others made immediate connections to the people. They would nod in approval.

What they've come to discover is that filmmaking surfaces the ways in which we see the world and what we value. Sure, this isn't anything new but this experiment makes this apparent. In fact, they relate other experiments done among white graduate students as well as the black ghetto. The black kids and the Navajo gave primary importance to accuracy and proper representation while the white students sought to recreate or manipulate the images through artistry. It easily lends to implications of manifest destiny, colonization, and the want to shape things according to our needs instead of living harmoniously with nature.

Perhaps most valuable of all is how quickly the Navajo were able to learn how to shoot and edit film. Their progress was truly unprecedented yet amazingly normal and not worthy of attention to the students. Motion is natural to the Navajo and they saw nothing to be praised. It brings up a good point: the motion picture is something natural to everyone. It is the art most readily capable of recreating life as it is. Where other arts take grand efforts to reproduce these qualities (and still fall short), the camera does this effortlessly. It is not surprising that film has become such a widespread, popular medium and entertainment. It works much like the way we experience the world and the ways in which we dream. Like fleeting moments, we only remember small visual passages in haze. But film, in that respect, is invaluable: it renders concrete our thoughts and memories.