Indian Horse

Damn, this is no feel-good sports movie. It does have those better moments for certain, with a dash of hope on the side, but it's DARK. Reminds me much of the treatment of Sami people in Nordic countries back in the day. I do not know why we as people can be so filled with fear towards anything we do not know or understand. Has gorgeous shots and brilliant acting. Difficult to imagine it's a small production as it's made with such talent and passion.

Main issue with this movie is that it jumps between so many different settings that the side characters are never established beyond their caricature which causes a lot of scenes to be super ham-fisted and lacking in chemistry. I also don't find it to be a particularly candid examination of trauma, given that its depiction of residential schools is tepid and Saul's trauma is not at all convincing considering the film removes his negative reactions and relations that the novel expressed.

Great performances and it's always nice to see Donovan pop up unexpectedly but this isn't really a well made movie. Plus all i could do was laugh when they give this big thing at the end about the need for reconciliation and how that's the purpose of this movie but the only people in the theatre when I saw this were 4 NDN people (My mom, brother and I plus some rando just by himself). Feels like an NDN movie made for white people so at least we are getting somewhere.