"Billy Jack," eponymously titled for the lead character, is an entertaining movie, but without much substance -- that is what you get when you have caricatures -- a peace-loving, basically American Indian "Freedom School" versus the conservative redneck bad guys.
Billy Jack is played by Tom Laughlin, who does not look much like a half Indian. Also, altho he has martial arts fluidity against the villains, he is quite rigid in posture, the white man that he is. Like his split background, I thought his acting performance was uneven -- at times good, at times wooden. Let me comment that he was not impressive in the final scene, which was not moving to me. Jean Roberts (Delores Taylor), sort of Billy's love interest, runs the Freedom School. She is the passionate figure of the movie, but certainly only platonically.
One curiousity is what the director is trying to do with the character of Sheriff Cole, a compromising personality, but who overall seems to be presented favorably. A good man rather than bad like the rest of the town, he is unable and unwilling to mount an effective resistance to the bad guys tho he serves as a go-between, helps Billy and the Freedom Schoolers behind the scenes, and yes, once, rescues Billy, by, sort of, standing up against the beaters. Like Billy, he is totally outnumbered by pretty much an entirely bad white community, like the prosecutor in the Mississippi civil rights murder cases trying to convince the jury. But I say, his is a refreshing role to me, because he is, well, the most normal person.
So, American Indians have been mistreated? We all know that, but what does this movie tell us about it, the background, the problem as it exists today (OK, 30 years ago), the solution? So we have peace-loving hippies and Indians, whining, whining, directed at the bad guys, nothing else. So?
What was the Freedom School all about? Well, it opposes the establishment. We know. But what does it do, what do you learn, what do you accomplish, what are you prepared for? Well, we hear diatribes, but where are we going? Maybe inherently nowhere.
Thus, "Billy Jack" mainly functions for its superficial visual (and audio) images, spirit of the '60s. But the storyline still captures the viewer. There are the abusive bad guys, we are worked up against them, the guy in the white hat (sort of) comes to the rescue. And if we don't totally understand what the Freedom School is all about, we at least know some of its political stances, and something of its style, even if the way the movie presents them is silly.
This all adds up to an annoying sanctimoniousness that serves as a turnoff. Tho the conservative characters are stereotyped, they are developed better than the Freedom Schoolers, who are poorly acted, cheesy, and certainly not compelling.
The true irony of "Billy Jack" is that the pacifist Freedom School contradicts what made people go see the movie. How many went, or would go, to see it, and how many went to see the fight scenes? Anyway, the score is quite good.
Billy Jack is played by Tom Laughlin, who does not look much like a half Indian. Also, altho he has martial arts fluidity against the villains, he is quite rigid in posture, the white man that he is. Like his split background, I thought his acting performance was uneven -- at times good, at times wooden. Let me comment that he was not impressive in the final scene, which was not moving to me. Jean Roberts (Delores Taylor), sort of Billy's love interest, runs the Freedom School. She is the passionate figure of the movie, but certainly only platonically.
One curiousity is what the director is trying to do with the character of Sheriff Cole, a compromising personality, but who overall seems to be presented favorably. A good man rather than bad like the rest of the town, he is unable and unwilling to mount an effective resistance to the bad guys tho he serves as a go-between, helps Billy and the Freedom Schoolers behind the scenes, and yes, once, rescues Billy, by, sort of, standing up against the beaters. Like Billy, he is totally outnumbered by pretty much an entirely bad white community, like the prosecutor in the Mississippi civil rights murder cases trying to convince the jury. But I say, his is a refreshing role to me, because he is, well, the most normal person.
So, American Indians have been mistreated? We all know that, but what does this movie tell us about it, the background, the problem as it exists today (OK, 30 years ago), the solution? So we have peace-loving hippies and Indians, whining, whining, directed at the bad guys, nothing else. So?
What was the Freedom School all about? Well, it opposes the establishment. We know. But what does it do, what do you learn, what do you accomplish, what are you prepared for? Well, we hear diatribes, but where are we going? Maybe inherently nowhere.
Thus, "Billy Jack" mainly functions for its superficial visual (and audio) images, spirit of the '60s. But the storyline still captures the viewer. There are the abusive bad guys, we are worked up against them, the guy in the white hat (sort of) comes to the rescue. And if we don't totally understand what the Freedom School is all about, we at least know some of its political stances, and something of its style, even if the way the movie presents them is silly.
This all adds up to an annoying sanctimoniousness that serves as a turnoff. Tho the conservative characters are stereotyped, they are developed better than the Freedom Schoolers, who are poorly acted, cheesy, and certainly not compelling.
The true irony of "Billy Jack" is that the pacifist Freedom School contradicts what made people go see the movie. How many went, or would go, to see it, and how many went to see the fight scenes? Anyway, the score is quite good.