Search - Older Than America on DVD

Gloria B. (glowbird) from SPOKANE, WA
Reviewed on 6/14/2022...

This is an excellent movie. Surprising to see Bradley Cooper in this film, but he adds a realistic touch to the film in that outsiders are often made welcome in native communities. The film takes place on the Fon du Lac Reservation, Chippewa country. The story revolves around a closed Indian boarding school; with ghosts of children of the school; a cover-up by the Catholic church on atrocities, including murder, committed on children of the school. More recent themes of trauma experienced by survivors is also portrayed, as well as the healing in native communities, and how humor is pervasive. There is an outstanding native cast including Adam Beach, Wes Studi, Tantoo Cardinal and Dennis Banks. Highly recommend.

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A must-see...a must-have

MetisYooper | 09/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this film at a premiere at the university I teach at and ever since have been waiting anxiously for this film to be released. It's very exciting to see it finally here! A must-see film about the legacies of Indian boarding schools - beautifully done. As a Native American studies educator, you can be sure my students will be hearing of it."

Fairly Disappointing

cheesefilms | Oklahoma | 10/17/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In the opening scene we see a sun dance ceremony, from there on the viewer is taken through a series of three different films. Although the writer(s) intention is to bring to light the historically horrific and abusive environment boarding schools meted out to "save the man and kill the Indian", I found myself less interested and sympathetic to the characters that were weaved in and out of mystical and supernatural experiences. There seemed not enough character building invested in drawing feeling from these actors and yet the viewer is given mere glimpses into knowing or relating to each victim. Adam Beach seems clueless and toothless as a police officer, but gets an attitude after it is too late and his fiancé is locked away; the priest seems to have more power on this reservation than anybody hanging around the ER eavesdropping and administering paperwork for a co-conspirator in Tantoo Cardinal, whom seems gullible and weak compared to most native women portrayals on her resume.



During the scene before "Rain" is taken away and is in the hospital, the native male nurse asks the fiancé (Beach) to leave, because "she needs rests"? Indian people (families) do not "leave" hospitals within the first crucial hours out of caution or make sure answers to questions are available or await test results. I take into consideration that this is Lightning's film debut and there is something to be said about the need for shooting this films subject matter, but what would have been more interesting, perhaps in black and white, is to view more scenes or diaries of the incidents of abuse and destruction against a child or children without the need for a bar scene, a white clueless geologists or some pretty native females, that is another film. The boarding schools system and its destructive history; genocide and the bureaucratic incompetence are all tied together in working against natives and should be known, but this film has elements of romance, mysticism, racism and history squeezed into a small amount of time to gain any effect on the misinformed viewer(s). Even the small amount of boarding school footage from "The Education of Little Tree" (1997) made me feel for the title character and his harsh experiences were real or the brief scenes from "When The Legends Die" (1972) were realistic.



The only character that I saw as solid or close to being believable, was Dennis Banks and he has less screen time or notoriety than anyone else in the film.

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