|
Dances with Wolves (4-Nov-1990)
Director: Kevin Costner Keywords: Drama, Civil War
REVIEWS Review by Caitie (posted on 8-Oct-2008) I am a teacher of the Lakota language, and it was this film that first got me interested. I am adopted into a Lakota family now but am an Irish American from the East Coast, so I have learned much about the Lakota since this film came out.
Although the Lakota is not spoken well (none of the principal cast was a Lakota speaker and it is a difficult language to master), this movie provides me with a valuable teaching tool.
The film is 'Anglicized' in parts (i.e. there were no plural marriages shown, which were common among the Plains tribes back then; the very "Christian" look of the wedding scene with the bride being escorted to the groom's tent, etc..no such fuss was made in reality; the marriage was agreed upon, a bride price was paid, and the lovers were then considered married without a formal ceremony involving the entire village), this was the first 'fly on the wall' insight into Lakota life and this movie did more to undo negative stereotypes of the Lakota than anything that had been made before.
Kudos to Costner for insisting on his character learning Lakota and having the Sioux people speak their own language rather than 'magically' being fluent in English, and to using American and Canadian native people in the film rather than using white people playing indians, as had been done so much in the past.
Kudos also to the entire look and feel of the movie, so that we could see the basic humanity that all human beings share. Unfortunately, the rampant bigotry in South Dakota against the Lakota is still in full force, but this film..for a short time, at least..helped to bridge that gap a bit and holds up today as an excellent portrait of a once-proud culture that, in many ways, was far more balanced and harmonious than white culture ever will be.
This is a 'must see' on an historical level as well as an entertainment level, and it deserved the Oscar for Best Picture of 1990. Truly a masterpiece and a personal best for Kevin Costner in his insight and his courage in insisting on making the film he wanted us to see and not knuckling under to studio pressure to lose the language and subtitles, which would have given us a much less effective and realistic film.
Kevin, lila washte echanu ca heun ichantewashtemayakiye kshto!
Locate a copy of this film here.
Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile
Copyright ©2008 Soylent Communications
|
