Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Yves Simoneau

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Giat (teleplay)
Dee Brown (book)

Release Date:

27 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Western

Tagline:

The Epic Fall of the American Indian

Plot:

A chronicle of how American Indians were displaced as the U.S. expanded west. Based on the book by Dee Brown.

Plot Keywords:

American Indian | South Dakota | Native American | Western U.S. | Reference To Genesis 1 28

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 20 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Anna Paquin	...	Elaine Goodale
Chevez Ezaneh	...	Ohiyesa / Young Charles
August Schellenberg	...	Sitting Bull
Duane Howard	...	Uncle
Aidan Quinn	...	Henry Dawes
Colm Feore	...	General Sherman
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	President Ulysses S. Grant (as Fred Thompson)
Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse	...	One Bull (as Nathan Chasing Horse)
Wayne Charles Baker	...	Jacob
Brian Stollery	...	Bishop Whipple
Shaun Johnston	...	Col. Nelson Miles
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Chief Red Cloud
Billy Merasty	...	Young Man Afraid
Morris Birdyellowhead	...	American Horse
Eddie Spears	...	Chasing Crane

Also Known As:

Untitled Wounded Knee Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

HBO Films

Trivia:

Originally began development in 1995 as a two-part miniseries for ABC.

Goofs:

Continuity: The mouse that craws under the blanket is clearly not the same mouse that is hit with the pan by the Indian woman and then removed from under the blanket.

Quotes:

Gall: There were no early crops. Now there will be no late crops. Does it seem to you that our coffee rations are smaller?
Sitting Bull: Why do you tell lies about my part in the fight at the Little Bighorn?
Gall: It was Agent McLaughlin. You angered him. He made me say these things against you.
Sitting Bull: How can this be? All our lives, we were like brothers, sharing meat when we had it. When we had no meat, and when food was but a day's ride to an agency, we could not be made to take from the whites!
Gall: I will go and speak straight and set things right.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Need

Good picture; a documentary would be better

The movie is compelling and (of course) full of pathos. It presents complexities not normally addressed in "good guy vs bad guy" films. But it also presents a number of highly complex situations that it can't possibly resolve in a movie format. A documentary would be better suited.

The acting was excellent, with the exception of the ever-predictable Aidan Quinn. Anna Paquin was impressively in command of her performance and did much better than I expected. The rest of the cast was just as good.

This picture made me cry like a documentary would but didn't draw me in like a compelling movie. I think it's just a case of wrong medium for the story.