48
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoIt's an intriguing portrait, but it makes no pretense at objectivity, erring on the side of hero worship.
- 70Village VoiceMark HolcombVillage VoiceMark HolcombUnfortunately, Rae's film is split down the middle, and the appeal of its latter half depends on your tolerance for earnest politico-poetry set to wailing rock guitar and Native American chants and extraneously endorsed by celebrity talking heads. The backstory portion of the film, though, is riveting.
- 63TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxRae's 80-minute film isn't able to answer every question or flesh out important details of these events, and she spends more time on Trudell's artistic endeavors than on his direct political action.
- 60VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonMore hagiography than history, Heather Rae's long-in-production portrait of Native American activist and poet John Trudell has the uncritically admiring feel of authorized biography.
- No one in the film has a bad word to say about Mr. Trudell, despite his 17,000-page F.B.I. dossier; and by the time Robert Redford assures us that meeting him is not dissimilar to meeting the Dalai Lama, you may feel that all this worship does not do justice to an unusually stormy and complicated life.
- 58The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayAnyone looking for history lessons from Rae's documentary will have to be patient and alert enough to pick through the poetry.
- 50New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanRae does offer a riveting introduction to the American Indian civil rights movement.
- 40Film ThreatFilm ThreatWhile Trudell has a few interesting and emotional moments in its second half, from the start it is badly hobbled by its worshipful tone.
- 40L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyHow could a movie about someone with one of the nation's longest FBI files be this dull?
- 25New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoPolitics aside, Trudell plays like an infomercial for its subject rather than a serious examination of the man and his beliefs.