An FBI man with Sioux background is sent to a reservation to help with a murder investigation, where he has to come to terms with his heritage.
Val Kilmer
Ray Levoi
Sam Shepard
Frank Coutelle
Graham Greene
Walter Crow Horse
Fred Ward
Jack Milton
Fred Thompson
William Dawes
Sheila Tousey
Maggie Eagle Bear
Ted Thin Elk
Grandpa Sam Reaches
John Trudell
Jimmy Looks Twice
Julius Drum
Richard Yellow Hawk
Sarah Brave
Maisy Blue Legs
Allan R.J. Joseph
Leo Fast Elk
Sylvan Pumpkin Seed
Hobart
Patrick Massett
Agent Mackey
Rex Linn
FBI Agent
Brian A. O'Meara
FBI Agent
Duane Brewer
Ranger
Lewis C. Bradshaw
Ranger
Dennis Banks
Self
Candy Hamilton
School Teacher
Jerome Mack
Maggie's Kid
Tom M. LeBeau
Ray's Father
Bridgit P. Schock
Ray's Mother
Terry Graber
Doctor
David Crosby
Bartender
Jerry Allan
Drunken Brawler
Jason R. Lone Hill
Director
Michael Apted
Screenplay
John Fusco
September 20, 2020
6
_**Val Kilmer and Sam Shepard investigate a murder on a South Dakota Reservation**_
A young, half-Sioux FBI agent (Val Kilmer) teams-up with a veteran agent (Sam Shepard) to investigate a murder on a Reservation in western South Dakota where the pro-government faction conflicts with ARM, the Aboriginal Rights Movement radicals. Graham Greene plays a tribal police officer.
“Thunderheart” (1992) is a Western that takes place in the modern day loosely based on events relating to the Wounded Knee incident in 1973. ARM from this movie is an expy of AIM, the American Indian Movement, which is a traditionalist organization that was radically active in those days and still exists. Some understandably consider AIM a terrorist organization back then in light of actions such as Leonard Peltier’s murder of two FBI agents in 1975 at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is referenced by Cooch in the movie (Shepard).
You don’t have to be knowledgeable of any of this stuff or to take one side or the other to appreciate the movie. While it takes a side (which I’m not going to reveal), I’m in the middle and just here for the picture. I like the film, but it’s slightly hindered by wannabe hip banter. Moreover, the almost god-like powers of certain AmerIndians are laid on too thick, but I appreciated some of the spiritual elements.
The film runs 1 hours, 59 minutes, and was shot in South Dakota at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Wounded Knee Cemetery and Badlands National Park, as well as Washington DC.
GRADE: B-
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00