This is not a film that attempts to portray events entirely realistically; instead it creates caricatures out of characters in order to present a very real and indeed true-to-life issue. There is some fantasy depicted in the film, which might throw some viewers off guard, though again this is because realism is not the issue the film addresses. Action scenes are shot in a dramatic manner very much like that in the typical Hollywood action film, but the overall excitement of the film is created with the purpose of catching the attention of a mass audience, and then leaving this large audience with something to think about. In this the film succeeds splendidly. The action, however, is not the central point of the picture, it is a philosophical movie rather than an action flick. Films like Little Big Man, and Dances With Wolves were both excellent, but they concerned events that occurred in the past, hence were not especially relevant to what is going on right now. Many people who watch films like Little Big Man do not fully realize that the situation for Indians has not changed all that much, some even choose to believe that there are no problems at all any longer. Those films, especially Dances With Wolves, were also highly sentimental, and therefore almost impossible to watch due to the fake sense of creating emotional appeal. Thunderheart does not bother with sentimentality; one can watch the entire film absorbing even the scenes of death and sadness without having to shed a tear. The drama is not undermined, but it isn't put into the focus of the film as if attempting to make the entire audience cry, instead it focuses on the important issues. Thunderheart is set in the 20th century, and it comments on the state of life for Native American Indians today. The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, yet life on Indian reservations is far more like that in third world countries. It is a life almost without any hope, and the only way out seems to be an abandonment of their traditions and their own language. A people should never be forced to forsake their own religion and beliefs in order to live decently, just imagine if someone suggested that all Christians abandon their belief in Christ or otherwise be subjected to living in third world conditions. I have been involved with the Indian community since I was twelve years old, and I have spent months at a time living on reservations. I have seen the inhumane conditions that the people at Viejas Reservation lived under ten years ago, and I witnessed the change as the casino was opened. Most reservations, however, are not allowed to have casinos, and life for them has not improved at all. Thunderheart is an excellent film because it opens the eyes of people in regard to an issue that deserves to be experienced by a mass audience; and the film achieves its objective flawlessly.
Review of Thunderheart
