Rez Bomb (2008) User Reviews

A love story you can get lost in

[tomtabori · 8/10 · 21 February 2009]

Rez Bomb is a love story you can get lost in. It declines to portray Native Americans in the set model of drug addiction and crime, and instead tells a charming tale of love on the run and against the odds that could be set anywhere.

Steven Simpson's direction brings a knowledge of the setting gleaned from years spent there and documentaries filmed there, and Pine Ridge inhabitants' status as second class citizens is starkly pictured throughout, yet Simpson somehow makes this film as joyous as it is damning, a fast-paced, rollicking ride in the company of great characters and a wicked soundtrack.

We saw it at the Glasgow Film Festival on Thursday (19.02.09) and the audience all seemed to love it, staying to quiz Simpson on this slow burning poverty he has brought so powerfully to light.

Tom and Josie, Glasgow.

As much a Red and White Ulysses as Romeo and Juliet

[michaelbenis · 9/10 · 28 October 2009]

Rez Bomb is a great independent film worthy of widespread attention. Billed as a Romeo and Juliet, it's actually about two youths on a journey not to find but to re-find each other in a world that has lost love and its soul. It's a kind of modern Odyssey that looks at the voyage from both the man and the woman's point of view. This and the sense of a broken world also breaks time in some ways and so the scenes do not follow a strict chronology. Some may initially find this confusing, though they are helped by subtle shifts in colour that cue you into which stage of the story you are watching.

It's not a reservation film or an Indian film, though people with an interest in either won't be disappointed. The original (and significantly inferior) screenplay was in fact set in the tenements of Glasgow, so even at the outset this film, which has been a decade in the making, was interested in the lost and dispossessed. But the theme of genocide and loss which could equally have been explored in the Scots version surfaces subtly yet with greater resonance here with the Lakotah, partly because of the physical isolation of the reservation and partly because race constantly seems to inspire greater crass prejudice than class alone, not to mention the fact that - against all odds - the Lakotah spirit has survived. If that makes it sound as if the film will be preachy, don't worry: it isn't. Nor is it arty despite the complexity of its themes. It has an altogether wider and much more deeply human vision for that. And it is passionate. You can watch it as a good old-fashioned thriller in a larger unseen location and leave it at that if you like. Though once you've seen it you will probably want to see it again and think more deeply.

The performances are consistently excellent from professional and amateur members of the cast alike, making for compelling viewing throughout.

Highly recommended.

This DVD of this film is also worth a mention and outstanding value for money, with same great documentary footage and interviews of the high plains folk, both red and white, and how their life is changing. The director also takes you through the film explaining some of the film's themes and the techniques used, which makes the DVD a valuable tool for those engaged in film studies. In addition there's a great interview with American Indian Movement activist and Republic of Lakotah spokesperson Russell Means, who also appears in the film. For those interested in the Lakotah, the DVD is worth it for this alone.

RezBomb--A Fan Review

[hmurrell75 · 8/10 · 19 June 2009]

I just finished watching my brand new copy of Rez Bomb this evening and I was NOT disappointed. Gritty is a great way to describe the film but, realistic is even better. Rez Bomb provides you with first person, narrative views of 'the hustle', its pitfalls and its resultant dangers.

Harmony, one of the main characters is in whole lot of trouble. She and her boyfriend owe a sizable amount of money to a dirty ol' money peddler named Jaws. Jaws gets his kicks from terrorizing the local people of Pine Ridge Reservation. He has no fear of lawful retribution because the FBI won't mobilize to enforce the law on 'Indian' land for a dead or beaten or raped Native man, woman or child--that would cost the U.S. government too much money. As a consequence, Jaws and his cronies have de-facto free reign on the rez.

Harmony and her white boyfriend Scott (played by Tamara Feldman and Trent Ford) have a plan to get them 'set up' and to get Harmony off the rez but,there is some trouble along the way. You root for Harmony and Scott throughout the entire film but, you especially root for Harmony. You respect her nerve, her tenacity, her cleverness and wit; you love her smile, her liveliness--her spirit. You want her to win and overcome and it is her character and the final outcomes that keeps you glued to the screen.

The film also accurately portrays the racial disharmony in U.S. society and the oppressor's idealism that they are saving the rest of us; we are lazy, disrespectful and lost savages that need them or we will be lost forever. In addition you see the sense of entitlement and superiority that the oppressor has in regards to the environment and our lives.

On board for this gritty and realistic thrill ride is the veteran talents of Russell Means, and the most handsome and very likable talents of Moses Brings Plenty and Tokala Clifford. Russell plays Dodds who gets bilked for some cash in the first chapter of the film setting the tone for the dangers to come. Tokala Clifford plays Chilik (looking wonderfully Rez Boy Fresh as Harmony's brother) and Moses Brings Plenty plays Johnny a drug dealer who is Scott's friend and ally.

This is a great film to own whether you like blockbusters or indies and can easily hold its own against other blockbusters films such as Snatch and The Grifters. The story line hooks you and the actors do the rest. It is a solid film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fantastic piece of independent cinema

[lipstick_pixie · 26 August 2009]

Fantastic film set in one of the poorest places of the US. A thriller, a love story, a dark comedy at times, Rez Bomb is one of the best pieces of independent cinema I've seen recently. Harmony, a Lakota girl and her white boyfriend Scott find a plan to make a quick buck and escape the reservation's grim life. They get more than they bargained for when they get in trouble with a loan shark who shows an unhealthy interest in Harmony. One of Simpson's strengths is his character development and brilliant dialogue, and Rez Bomb doesn't disappoint. And this time, his cinematography is simply breath-taking. It feels as if the director is very familiar with Pine Ridge and this knowledge shows on his choice of locations.

The film features Trent Ford, Tamara Feldman and AIM activist Russell Means, as well as many local American Indian actors. Want to see what life in a reservation is really like? It doesn't get much closer than this. The director offers an accurate portrait of the racism, discrimination and poverty that Lakotas experience on a daily basis, but also gives us a tale of hope, love and survival.

Lowlifes Long for Luxury

[equayona · 1/10 · 14 June 2011]

This movie is so full of holes the wind whistles as it blows through. Or are those the sighs of boredom? The premise: young lovers get into debt to a vicious loan shark while trying to work a scam on professional gamblers. The script provides fairly realistic characters. The problem is that they range from unlikeable to despicable. There is not a single sympathetic character in the entire movie. The young Lothario is commendably open minded as regards to race(he is a white guy), unfortunately he is a lazy,crooked, drug dealer. And stupid to boot. His very attractive Lakota lover is sweet, charming and also a grifter who feels it is her right to shoplift because the store owner is white. But she seems willing to blow him to get out of the shoplifting charge. The first major hole in the story is that they try to work the scam to get enough money to set up housekeeping off the rez. The lad is 25 years old, has well to do parents and blows off a quarter of a million inheritance for noble love of his brown skinned sweety. Oh, and because he doesn't want to get a job. He is willing to deal with loan sharks and criminals, but won't scam his own parents. Not plausible. Second hole. They go to the shark for money for a risky venture, but he has ten thousand dollars worth of drugs in his guitar. Duh! Sell the dope and get off the rez. Third hole, he says he is holding the drugs for a friend, but then he calls his friend and sells him the drugs. What?? Fourth hole. He is from white middle class Rapid City SD, but he goes to Pine Ridge to "find himself" or something, OK,but he makes drug and love connections in about two days. He goes to the rez with a nice looking car, but when we enter the story, he steals a van to escape gamblers who are chasing him on foot(neither of whom look like they could run fifty yards). And we all know that people leave their keys in their vehicles on Oine Ridge, right? What happened to the car? Besides these two losers, we have the girl's brother, portrayed as a lay-about who beats up some schlemiel who knocked up one of his sisters(or someone's sister) but leaves the loan shark who threatens his other sister's life and terrorizes his parents completely alone. The loan shark is a racist of course, and so are lover boy's parents, blatant, vulgar racists who insult a girl their son has brought home to meet them. The holes continue but let me say that the acting and camera work are slightly better than most porn flicks. Well, maybe not really better. But at least equal to porn acting.

Meh

[silverton-37959 · 3/10 · 1 August 2020]

This isn't a bad story, but the film is badly acted, undirected and poorly filmed. As an introduction for a couple of pretty good Oglala actors it was worth making, but I didn't really find it worth watching. To those looking for a film about Lakota people on Pine Ridge, be advised that it's actually about a white guy who gets in trouble with white loan sharks and brings his trouble to Pine Ridge.

Even the actors who have done good work in other films turn in poor performances in this one.