Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

The Story Speaks Louder Than This Film

[fwomp · 7/10 · 7 January 2008]

BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE is a somber retelling of the events leading up to the massacre at (what is now) the Wounded Knee Memorial. But this isn't a documentary. This is a made-for-TV fictional retelling, and it is the "made-for-TV" bit that makes this important American event lose some of its composure.

The entire production flags because of the TV aspect, many of the film shots losing their impact either because of lack of attention to detail or funds (or probably both). Either way this could've been an extreme visual recollection for most viewers but instead it lacks the depth I would've liked to have seen.

Regardless, there are some stellar appearances and acting within it. August Schellenberg as Sitting Bull undeniably has the most impact. Recent movie viewers will probably remember him from his portrayal as Powhatan in THE NEW WORLD. The contrast between the character in The New World and here in Wounded Knee shouldn't be lost, either. Without Powhatan and Pocahontas, the white settlers at Jamestown would've perished within the first few winters. And now, in Wounded Knee, it is the white man who destroys what is left of Native American life; a terribly stark (and bloody) reality.

The other notables are Adam Beach (FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS) as Charles Eastman, and Aidan Quinn as Senator Henry Dawes. They spend a lot of time together on film and they played against/off each other exceptionally well. Charles being the "new wave" Indian who melds into the white man's way of life until exposed to reservation life at Pine Ridge. Henry Dawes seeing himself as "The Great White Savior Of The Indians" by passing legislation that loops a few nooses around the necks of the Plains Indians' way of life without even realizing it.

But other actors have little to offer. Anna Paquin (X-MEN) as Charles' white love interest (and eventual wife) is seen too infrequently so the relationship between the two has little impact. She does a good job of acting but the script stymied any possibility of real success. From here the acting dips into the drab and boring. I have to give mention to Senator Fred Thompson (currently a Republican runner for the U.S. Presidency) who plays President Ulysses S. Grant. We see maybe four frames of film with him in it and then he's gone. This surprised me greatly since it was Grant's administration that doomed Native Americans by rounding them up and placing them on reservations.

Despite my misgivings about the script, cinematography and acting, this is a vital story that needs to be told, and it isn't something that is normally taught in grade school or higher. Europeans (us) conquered this land and its people, and pushed them into holding pens where they, to this day, await justice for our multiple treaty violations and massacres of their men, women and children (I will say that the scenes depicting large-caliber rifle bullets ripping through young kids was filmed well and was equally hard to watch).

So the story gives this film a higher rating than anything within it, which is unfortunate, as this terrible moment in American history needs to be remembered just as much as Germany needs to remember its holocaust.

Wounded Knee but without the Heart

[kdesign-1 · 6/10 · 27 May 2007]

This well intentioned movie did not capture the spirit of Dee Brown's book, alas.

Focusing the story largely around the admirable Lakota doctor, Charles Eastman and his White wife tries to give an emotional center to Brown's sprawling narrative but the characters of Sitting Bull and Red Cloud come off as little more than an elaboration of the famous "Noble Redman meets Litter" commercial of the 70's. Superficial, blatantly sentimental and ultimately, not all that stirring----although I loved the aerial cinematic dance of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

HBO would have been better off following the narrative structure of the book---a compelling and heartrending documentation of the woes, duplicity and failures of communication over several hundred years that ultimately achieved the near genocide of the native peoples of America by the turn of the 20th Century.

Perhaps a miniseries could have achieved this.

Ultimately, this HBO production had little heart to bury.

Excellent movie...not given enough credit.

[belva0308 · 8/10 · 27 July 2008]

The only reason I am giving this movie an "8" is because I can see why some people might be confused. Othewise, I cannot understand so much negativity towards this movie.

I will admit that I may have a slight advantage based on being raised by a mother who knows her Indian history and in particular, her Lakota history. I have also been to the area around Pine Ridge several times, so envisioning it wasn't difficult.

Without being able to do a 4 or 5 hour production, I think they did an outstanding job of showing the plight of the Native people and their struggle to exist under unfair and harsh conditions. It was rather plain to me and not colored over for the sake of the film. Showing the reality of Sitting Bull as a leader, as a man, as a captive was eloquent and very real to me.

Aidan Quinn was excellent in portraying a Christian man who honestly felt he was doing the right thing, but operating without a full understanding of what was being taken for the people he thought he was helping. Adam Beach did a great job of playing a young man disillusioned by the world he was forced into and saddened by what was happening to his people.

Some of the best moments of the film seemed simple outwardly, but were in fact so powerful that I cried. When Charles has his braids cut before going off to school, I felt so sad at that part of his culture being stripped from him. When the Indian men are lined up at Charles's window, asking for cod liver oil for the alcohol content, and when Sitting Bull arrives at the agency and is told that he no better than any other man there, those are some powerful moments. In fact, there were so many, I cannot count. Perhaps my favorite was the conversation between Gall and Sitting Bull in which Gall basically tells Sitting Bull that he has sold out and how much it has hurt him because of his view of him as a man who would never give up.

The only issues I could even mention about the movie is that at times it was hard to know who was who. It took me until the second time of watching to realize who was Gall and who was American Horse.

Watching all of the extras and commentary on this film gave me even more of an appreciation for what was attempting to be told in this film.

Must they adapt to the extent of their own extinction!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 20 February 2008]

The trail of tears that lead to the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890 started in the Summer of 1876 at the Little Big Horn. It was there where Gen. George Armstrong Custer and over 250 men under his command was slaughtered to the last man, the only survivor of Custer's troop being a calvary horse called Comanche, by the fired up Sioux Indians.

Wanting revenge for what turned out to be the worst defeat that the US Calvary suffered in the Indian Wars the "Great White Father" President Ulysses S. Grant, Fred Thompson, sent a much bigger military detachment headed by, as he's called by the Sioux, Gen.Bear-Coat to put a final end to the Dakota Indian uprising. Confronting Chief Sitting Bull, August Schellenberg, and his some three thousand warriors at Ceder Valley Creek Gen. Bear-Coat had no trouble dispersing the Sioux onslaught mowing down hundreds of Sitting Bull's men with volleys of rifle and cannon fire.

Dispersed and on the brink of starvation Sitting Bull's rival Chief Red Cloud, Gordon Tootoosis, was forced to sign away his peoples rights to where they became wards of the state living off the kindness and charity of the hated White Man. Sitting Bull wanting none of this took his followers to Canada where after suffering through a number of harsh Canadian Winters, far worse then any of the winters in the Dakota Territories, later came back hat in hand accepting the unthinkable: living under the White Man's both rule and law. It was the deception and manipulation by the US Government in trying to force Sitting Bull and his people to sign away their ancestral lands that eventually lead to the wild and hysterical events that lead to Wounded Knee.

The story of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" is told to us through the personal observations of Charles Eastman, Adam Beach, formerly known by his Sioux Indian name of Ohiyesa. Eastman was an 18 year old at the battle of Little Big Horn where he earned his warrior's feather in killing a horse soldier of Gen. Custer's 7th Calvary in the fighting. Now grown up and earning a medical degree Eastman only wants to help his fellow Sioux in preventing a number of deadly outbreaks of disease that hit his former home the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Together with his white European wife the former Elaine Goodale, Anna Paguin, Eastman worked around the clock trying to save what he could of the many Sioux Indians who were dying by the hundreds of both hunger and disease. With Eastman's good friend Massachusetts Senator Henry Drew, Alden Quinn,trying to get his people to come to some agreement with the US Government in becoming farmers instead of nomads, which the Sioux were for countless centuries, tensions soon reached a breaking point.

It was when out of sheer desperation the Sioux adopted the ancient Indian Ghost Dance, which was only ceremonial and nothing else, that the US Army was dispatched to put an end to what the Federal Government back in Washington D.C perceived to be another potential Little Big Horn. With tempers flaring on both sides after Chief Sitting Bull was murdered by the reservations Sioux police it was only a matter of time for the lid, that both Eastman and Senator Drew tried to keep on, blew off and the results was the massacre at Wounded Knee. The last major battle between the US military and American Indians in the long and bloody US/Indian Wars of the 1800's.

Pretty accurate film about how the American Indians were treated and how they had their land which they never really claimed to own, the idea of a person owning a piece of land was unknown to them, from right under noses. Despite the many losses they suffered at the hands of the US Military the Sioux never relinquished their claim to the Black Hills, which they considered their sacred and holy grounds. Technically and legally even now, some 118 years after the Wounded Knee massacre, the historic Black Hills are in the hands of the Sioux tribes still living there.

P.S Charles Eastman aka Ohiyesa was to write dozens of books and articles about his people the Sioux Indians as well as practice medicine at the Pine Ridge, as well as other, Indian reservation until he passed away on January 8, 1939 at the age of 80. Eastman among his many accomplishments in the service of his people was also the co-founder of the American Boy Scouts that improved and enriched the lives of American youths white black yellow and Native American Indian alike.

Powerful Drama

[FightingWesterner · 8/10 · 26 February 2010]

It's no secret that movies mix a lot of fiction with the facts. This film seems to have rubbed both history buffs and fans of the book the wrong way, but I thought it was a compelling, evocative film nevertheless.

Starting off where most movies end, at a CGI created overhead shot of The Little Big Horn (!), this instead focuses on the final years of the Unions war against the Indian nations, culminating in the massacre at Wounded Knee.

There's a really great role for Adam Beach, as a young Souix doctor, who's father turned his back on the native ways and sent him to live amongst whites at a young age, stripping him of his identity.

August Schellenberg is excellent here as Sitting Bull, who's determination and pride stokes the anger of the powers that be, including Aiden Quinn, a sympathetic but patronizing Senator who has taken it upon himself to lead the Indians on a path to "civilization".

Anyone who watched the myriad Cavalry pictures and Little Big Horn epics should see this and find out how the whole sad story ends.

Review

[NerdBat · 6/10 · 19 May 2018]

I've studied the events that lead up to the Wounded knee massacre, and I have to say you have to give a hand to this film. They kept to the books for the most part, and 99% of the film is pretty much exactly what happened in real life. To understand that this happened in the year 1890 sure is disheartening, seeing as when you put it into a broad perspective, that wasn't that long ago. We all take for granted our core values and beliefs, and this film hits close to home. You feel empathy and heartbreak over what only one tribe of American Indians went through, you open your eyes to what happened to all of them as well.

Awesome movie...

[cj_zuko · 8/10 · 10 June 2007]

I have never read the entire book. But the movie, as far as I'm concerned is outstanding. I actually thought it was going to be nothing but gun touting action and a lot of fluff, but the movie does well in showing the accuracies in most of the accounts that happened or would have happened. The movie does a good job showing a more sympathetic side to some of the Americans who actually cared for the Indian's and their interests. But it was also true in showing the ignorance on both sides and lack of understanding what truly needs to be done to attain peace. Another good thing that I loved about this movie was that is showed a more internal/personal conflict with the characters, something rarely see in Indian based movies or historically ones at that. Overall it is an awesome movie that I think, if shown in some of my history classes, would make that subject a lot more interesting. Anyone waiting to see the John Adams movie?

Congrats, HBO

[janet712 · 7/10 · 25 August 2008]

Having just spent the past 18 months studying Native American philosophy and having just returned from a week at Cherokee, learning the language and culture up close, I can say this film does help express the complex and heart-rending story of the relationship between the invaders and the conquered in our years 1870-1890.

For those who have been critical of the film (on this site), I should note from a White Woman's point of view, this is about all that Whites can absorb of the "full" story and emotions as a first contact. Yes, more can be told and should be told. But it's a start.

Perhaps this is the beginning of a revival of compassion and cross-cultural understanding.

In 1775, Dragging Canoe, a Cherokee, said, "We are not yet conquered." It has taken 200 years. Let's hope he was right.

"Then we will have a fight."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 14 October 2007]

I'll have to admit that I tried reading Dee Brown's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" on two separate occasions, the last time quite recently, and I found it to be VERY dry. Perhaps that was only in the early going, but I wasn't able to complete it both times. As for the film, I came across it quite by accident at my local library, not being an HBO subscriber. If I had my druthers, I guess I'd side with those reviewers who feel a more complete story could have been told using a mini-series format. However given the medium, it's a compelling film that highlights the plight of the Native American Indian in the dying days of the Old West, and with it, the death knell of a proud warrior people.

I recently visited the James Fenimore Cooper Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and at the time, actual Sioux drawings were on exhibit depicting the Battle at Little Big Horn. Watching the aerial view of the attack on screen suddenly put into perspective the circular rendition of an artist's rendering on a full size tee-pee. It was like seeing a painting come to life with a soaring eagle's eye, perhaps devoid of detail, but breathtaking in it's panoramic perspective on the immensity of the battle. Not to mention the hopelessness of Custer's cause.

The film can be absolutely depressing at times with it's depiction of outright slaughter, and perhaps even more so once the Sioux tribes are relegated to reservation life. We get to see how the 'Every Man a Chief' designation, though sounding completely egalitarian, works to strip away a proud chief's identity and status within his nation. I'm actually glad that the film didn't explore Sitting Bull's Wild West Show days with Buffalo Bill. Fortunately, he was able to reaffirm his own dignity with the 'one last time' confrontation against Senator Dawes (Aidan Quinn), a legacy that remains standing to this day.

Nice performances all around by Aidan Quinn as Senator Dawes, Adam Beach as the conflicted Ohiyesa/Charles Eastman, and August Schellenberg as Sitting Bull. President Grant came and went too quickly for me to recognize Fred Thompson under the beard, a trait he might also suffer as a Presidential contender unless he gets that fire in the belly.

Look, we need to own up to what we did to the Indians.

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 5 July 2007]

Does "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" go overboard on trying to humanize its subjects (or making them palatable to a TV audience)? Whether or not it does is beside the point. The point here is that we white people have to own up to our genocide against the Indians and theft of their land. Even if it takes a less-than-masterful movie like this one, something needs to remind us of that. The movie focuses specifically on a Sioux (Adam Beach) who takes the name Charles Eastman and studies medicine, but upon seeing what the white people's westward expansion does to his people tries to get Sen. Henry Dawes (Aidan Quinn) to listen.

I recommend it just because it shows what happened to the Indians. I repeat: we white people need to admit what we did and start atoning for it. Also starring J.K. Simmons, Wes Studi, August Schellenberg and Anna Paquin.

A good story about another American abomination

[latinfineart · 8/10 · 25 April 2020]

There is no doubt that the three greatest Travesties in the history of America are the treatment of the Native Americans, the treatment of the Mexicans, and the treatment of the Blacks. All three were absolute abominations on the soul of America. And absolute proof of the evil that lurks in the heart of the many white men. I've always considered white men to be the most dangerous people on the Earth. And I still consider them to be that. And I say that as a white man, who has a very limited amount of pride, based on the travesties we've committed over the centuries.

Sure, we've accomplished a lot. But at what cost? This was a good movie. It was a good depiction of just another travesty that we've committed. And the cowards that were responsible. As a great Indian Warrior once said, courage is very easy at a distance.

Beach is excellent as usual. Quinn plays a highly flawed man with good intentions, but someone who does not really understand the deficiencies of the souls of the lowlife politicians he is surrounded by.

Essentially the sequel to 1991's "Son of the Morning Star"

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 22 April 2016]

Released to HBO in 2007, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" is a historical Western based on several chapters of Dee Brown's book of the same name and details the last days of the Sioux Nation, culminating in the infamous massacre at Wounded Knee. Adam Beach plays Charles Eastman, a Dakota youth who is encouraged by his Christianized father to head east and become a doctor. During his stint as physician at Pine Ridge Reservation he meets and marries, Elaine Goodale (Anna Paquin). Eastman teams-up with Senator Henry Dawes (Aidan Quinn) to legally help the Native Americans. This includes the Dawes Act, which would ensure that every Indian family would own 160 acres of land. Within this framework the story of Sitting Bull (August Schellenberg) is told, including his death. Wes Studi appears briefly as Wovoka, a Northern Paiute spiritual leader and creator of the Ghost Dance. His messianic movement inspired the Natives, promising an end of their suffering under white rule.

Every movie based on history mixes fact with fiction as filmmakers try to overcome the challenge of morphing complex real-life events into palatable cinema. So let's get the falsities out of the way: Charles Eastman never lived in the Native village near the Battle of the Little Bighorn as young brave Ohiyesa; Sitting Bull surrendered at Ft. Buford, not Standing Rock; lastly, Charles Eastman was not Dawes' associate in developing the Dawes Act.

With that out of the way, what I like about this movie is how balanced it is as it shows both sides of the story. Here the Indians aren't portrayed as super-virtuous with nigh-Messianic powers (except for Wovoka, which is understandable) nor are the whites frothing with evil to massacre the Natives. This balance is perfectly portrayed in the excellent parley sequence between Sitting Bull and Col. Nelson Miles (Shaun Johnston) where honest and intense positions are shared. For instance, Miles argues that North America was anything but a peaceful paradise before Europeans arrived and that the Lakota Sioux conquered other tribes to acquire "their" land in the Black Hills. The Europeans were simply a confederation of several white "tribes" from across the great sea and were merely doing the same thing that Sitting Bull's tribe did – acquiring land from conquered peoples.

Speaking of Sitting Bull, he's one of the most interesting and enigmatic Native characters seen in cinema. And it's a noteworthy performance by Schellenberg.

The Wovoka sequence is another highlight where Wovoka (Studi) brings his prophecy and message of the Ghost Dance to the Black Hills Natives. He articulates his message in a hypnotizing manner accompanied by the sign language of the plains Indians. The irony is that, while Wovoka's vision inspires the Lakota and it replaces their suffering with hope & happiness, it only ends in death.

Two great sequences occur in the final act: The accurately-depicted haunting death of Sitting Bull, which took place on December 15, 1890, at Standing Rock Reservation; and the titular massacre at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine River Reservation two weeks later. Col. James Forsyth (Marty Antonini) says to Eastman, "We didn't fire first. I swear to Almighty God, we did not fire first," which is verified by history: Tensions mounted in the confrontation as Yellow Bird started to perform the Ghost Dance, informing the Sioux that their "ghost shirts" were bulletproof. Known troublemaker Black Coyote seemed to unintentionally trigger the massacre by refusing to give up his rifle; some say he was deaf and didn't comprehend the order. When two soldiers seized Black Coyote from behind, his rifle was discharged during the struggle. While this was happening, Yellow Bird threw dust in the air and several Lakota braves with concealed weapons threw aside their blankets and fired their rifles at the troops. The firing then became indiscriminate and the massacre entailed.

While "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" is a television production, its quality is as good or better than many theatrical pictures. As my title blurb says, it's basically the sequel to 1991's "Son of the Morning Star": That movie ended with Custer's last stand whereas "Wounded Knee" begins with it. Furthermore, they're both televisions productions with the same grueling-realistic tone. Another good comparison is 1975's "I Will Fight No More Forever." It's also not far off in style and approach to movies like "Unforgiven" (1992), "Wyatt Earp" (1994) and "Open Range" (2003). If you're a fan of these types of Westerns be sure to check out "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

The film runs 133 minutes and was shot outside of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

GRADE: B+

What a Letdown

[pattid68 · 5/10 · 12 June 2007]

I remember reading Dee Brown's book when I was about twelve, and being stunned by how powerful and moving it was. So when I saw that HBO was making a movie of Bury My Heart, I was thrilled.

And then I actually watched it.

Why they chose to take such a complex story and cram it into a two hour movie is beyond me -- they certainly could have made it a miniseries, a la Band of Brothers, or something. All the heart and soul of Brown's book is lost in this movie.

And I know Adam Beach is a popular actor if you're casting a movie that calls for young, good looking Native American guys, but he only has two facial expressions: happy or snarly, and that's it. Even Aidan Quinn, whom I normally adore, was totally wooden in this. The magnificent Wes Studi was horribly underused; he appears for about 60 seconds of film.

Such a shame that an amazing story had to be turned into a disappointing production.

A good film

[beatjumper · 7/10 · 15 March 2017]

Overall, it was a good film. The film portrays the struggles between the American Indians and the white people. It was a sad movie to watch, since the native Indians continuously suffered from many things, and there was no true freedom for them. It was sad to watch Charles being caught up by both sides; the American Indians and the white people. Some main points were briefly mentioned about the different tribes that appeared in the film, but not enough to get a very good understanding about the conflict between the tribes. The film also shows how people are from the opposing sides, and how they feel and act about the situation around the American Indians.

Are You Really Ready for the Truth?

[nogdyshus · 9/10 · 3 February 2008]

First off, I haven't seen the production of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. But I read the book. Many years ago. But if this production is true to the book it will be a wake-up call for many. You'll come away knowing exactly what was done to the people of the First Nations. The false promises, outright lies, cruelty, deprivation forced on them. The grief of seeing your wife, husband, father, child...your entire family destroyed. To see land that had sustained your people for eons being taken over and divided up, destroyed, its animal life extinguished with no hope of recovery. And finally, to see the mountains those lands surrounded...mountains sacred to all the tribes and nations of your race...to see the faces of foreign leaders carved into those mountains. Those of you with an ability for true empathy might have an inkling of the despair and hopelessness felt by the people of the First Nations. The majority will feel bad for a short while and then continue with their lives as before. And for some, some will feel a burden on their soul the likes of which you will wish you had never known. You'll learn to live with it. I can promise you that. We whites have an amazing capacity for justifying what our race has done to others and living with its subsequent guilt. But how long can we do that? Injustices done in the past can't be erased. And the injustice to the First Peoples continues to this day. If racial memory is an actuality, how large a burden of guilt can we carry until our collective backs break from its weight?

A noble effort

[fredit-43004 · 7/10 · 4 October 2022]

When Dee Brown's book was published, I had just graduated from high school and I prevailed upon my mother to allow me to order a copy as we had no convenient book store. I recall first reading the book and having no idea that Wounded Knee was an actual location, nor its significance. I can recall that my reaction in reading the book was as intense and emotional as I have ever had in reading any book, fiction or non-fiction. It took over 35 years for this film to be made. It is a noble effort, telling a story that unfortunately was invisible to me in the history lessons I'd had to that point in my life, and in the film representations of history. This film is certainly worth seeing, but it is not a substitute for Dee Brown's book.

Excellent.

[daniel-kyle · 10/10 · 19 December 2007]

I have no idea whether this is historically accurate, or, if I were a member of (Canada's) First Nations, to embrace or be offended by this portrayal of the time period, which, though the story of one Americanized Indian, is (given the title) really about the plight of America's first peoples and obviously told from a 21st Century perspective. Unlike Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima", it is truly a "white man's" perception. But, like Eastwood's "Outlaw Josey Wales", I was happy to embrace the intended sympathy for the characters. As a Canadian, I was also proud to see Adam Beach and Canada's Prairies represent an American history lesson. And, I must mention that, in addition to excellent cinematography, writing,and direction, what really made the movie for me was the soundtrack by George S. Clinton. Whether you have no interest in the story of this time period, or are finishing a Doctorate in Anthropology, I believe that you will be touched deeply in viewing this film.

incomplete

[spoon_layha · 6/10 · 16 September 2007]

alright i agree with u guys. this movie just took two parts of the book and ignored the rest. but i was thrilled by Adam Beach's performance of Charles Eastman. beach plays the role brilliantly. so criticize not the actors especially beach. he keeps getting these roles because he is a great actor even better than that damned old Russell means who is known for his terrible acting in the so- called great movie Pocahontas. Schellenburg played Sitting Bull very well i thought. i do realize that Geronimo should have been featured in the movie and also Chief Joesph should have been told about in the story. This movie was great but what it lacked was that it didn't tell the complete story

Very good film.

[LaxFan94 · 9/10 · 20 December 2009]

I believed this film to be quite accurate throughout with one blemish. The last major scene ... the one of the actual massacre. The film portrays it as starting "by an accidental shot" by one of the villagers holding a gun. I believe that to be wrong! The fact is that the soldiers just went right in there to shoot and kill! Not one mention was made of this in the film. There was NO prelude, if you will, to the mass murders because right after Sitting Bull was shot and killed the soldiers/police went straight to the village to murder all his supporters. It was Sitting Bull who rose up again with his Lakota ppl in defiance of the whites because he still felt there was still a chance to salvage the old ways. So, right after Sitting Bull was shot, the soldiers weren't satisfied. So they proceeded to that village so that they could have killed more Lakota!! The massacre DID NOT start by an accidental discharge as it's portrayed in the film! You noticed that soon after the head commander told Charles Eastman that they "did not fire the first shot, I swear by the almighty God" ... those were the words right after he helped murder the Lakota. So not only did he help murder them but he also lied to Eastman! This film is a classic portrayal of murder, treachery and deceit by the whites as is ALWAYS the case! And Dawes was NOT a friend of Eastman's! Dawes just USED HIM to get what he wanted and what every white man wanted .... Lakota land, resources and wealth, that's all!! There was no such thing as "friendship" between whites and Native ppl in those days! If there was, it was usually the white person only wanting to use and abuse him/her, usually for land, money, resources; you know, the usual shebang.

But... ANYWAYS... this was still a great movie to watch for those interested in Native history and I would strongly recommend you watch it.

Good picture; a documentary would be better

[irish23 · 6/10 · 11 September 2008]

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.

Exceptionaly good.

[michaelRokeefe · 9/10 · 6 November 2007]

An HBO Films event inspired by Dee Brown's bestseller. A true epic that begins with the aftermath of the Sioux massacre of General Custer and his men at Little Big Horn. Featured are the struggles of three principal players as Senator Dawes(Aidan Quinn)lobbies President Grant(Fred Thompson)into treating the Indians kinder. Senator Dawes would be aided by Charles Eastman(Adam Beach), a young Sioux doctor educated At Dartmouth. The Dawes Commission agenda was to break up the Great Sioux Reservation into individual parcels of land to be awarded to each Indian and still allow a right of way for the railroad to traverse on their former lands. The great chief Sitting Bull(August Schellnberg) would be driven to Canada and then reluctantly return to the reservation, where he would be stripped of his powers and dignity. Elaine Goodale(Anna Paquin)who's secret love of Eastman led her to the reservation to work in improving the lives of the Indians. Great scenery and superbly photographed. Also featured are: Wes Studi, J.K. Simmons, Colm Feorce, Gordon Tootoosis and Eric Schweig.

A good start of Native oppression but...

[dracforever · 6/10 · 3 November 2022]

... anyone who says this movie is not nearly complete is saying the truth BUT, if anyone has read the book that this is based upon knows that the entire story would need a protracted series to fit in all that is in the book!

It's heart-wrenching what the whites did to the Native Americans; it is a crime that it is not taught in the schools either. Between the book upon which this movie is based an "The Trail of Tears" a very grim picture of what was done to these tribes is told. As sad and terrible as the true story is, it is nonetheless a part of this country's history that needs to be told in it's entirety. This is a decent attempt to put the massive information in the book into a condensed version but I hope a complete version is some day attempted.

Uneven, incomplete, and boring depiction of the story

[glentom1 · 4/10 · 30 May 2007]

Very slow moving movie, which detracted greatly from the story it should have been telling. If you haven't read the book, or knew nothing of the history of this story, you would be completely lost.

The cast was great, and the acting was good. It is not the actors fault that the direction and editing was terrible. I had high hopes that the story telling would be straight forward, of a relatively well-documented event, based on the well known book.

The title is misleading; it is not Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, it is a small excerpt combined with some other story I was not familiar with. The ending of the movie is really mangled, combining color with black and white for dramatic effect, but it just doesn't work, especially when it never even shows the event depicted in the title.

Watch it for good acting, good music, great camera work, but don't expect to be educated, or entertained. The atrocities committed upon this Indian nation deserves a better rendition and remembrance, than presented here.

Worry our ass about the growth-religion

[PiotrxxxDenmark · 7/10 · 29 June 2023]

This movie is rather sentimental, but it gives a plain view on the matter at stake. Here we have some people living on and off the land, in harmony with the laws of nature ... and in comes the growth parties from Europe with all their artificial competition and a complete lack of respect for nature.

And of course the na(t)ive part, the one who does not suppress nature but comes along with it, is being slaughtered and forced into the calculating numbness of the 'rich man's world'. The growth paradise, which today is clearly overconsuming our ressources and destroying the planet's diversity and ecosystems. What a bender, and we just don't really care. We are numb. And sentimental. No Wakantanka here.

Get Ready To Shed Tears... If You are Human

[beorhouse · 10/10 · 17 November 2017]

I've seen every film about the plight of the American Indian. I am not of the opinion that any Indian was innocent of being human--and therefore faulty and in need of personal communion with the Great Spirit. Real Christ Worshipers show the way to Life, always have, and always shall. It is indeed unfortunate that there have never been that many, but bright lights need few luminary companions. So, to the film. This is most likely the best piece of literary and historical film ever made to show the utter complexities of the American Indian/Caucasian tragedy which, sadly, continues today though not on the scale that it did in the 19th century or even in the 1970s on the tail-end of the Civil Rights Movement. But a subjugated people--in this case, subjugated peoples--eventually learn who is in power, right? Look, we are all human, we are all greedy to some degree or another, and we will all slander or even kill to get what we think we need, and in more and more cases even what we want outside of needs. But it doesn't have to be that way. Jesus and his transforming power is the answer. Wait--the crucified son of a carpenter of one of twelve tribes decimated and nearly extinct by the time he was born? That just makes no sense. Well, of course it doesn't, which gives credence to the idea that it just might be the truth. You take the most unknown people on the planet-- the Hebrews or Jews--and you bring forth the Savior of the World through them, thus showing that any tribe and nation is eligible for salvation. There's not a more brilliant plan than that. Weave in the lying so-called "Christians" of the good ol' U.S. of A. and the vengeful American Indians of many tribes across this huge continent, and you have quite a story. That's what this film is. It's all about looking at what actually happened in the late 1800s and before, and then forgiving the perpetrators--on both sides. Questions which surface for this film? How much identification should any person have with his tribe and family? How much land does a conquering people actually need? How can true Christians actually show their Christ to those who don't understand? How far do we take the commandment of Jesus to love one another, and lay our lives down for them? Should I actually conquer, or should I, like many of the Scotch- Irish settlers (Protestants who supported William of Orange, thus 'Hill Billys') in the Appalachians, happily intermarry and create a new ethnic group? See this film with an open mind, and an open heart.