6.4
The interlocking stories of two Lakota boys growing up on Pine Ridge Reservation. At 23, Bill just wants to make something of himself. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a man. Bound by their shared search for belonging, each of the boys grapple with identity, family, and loss, as they navigate their unique paths to manhood.
Jojo Bapteise Whiting
Bill
LaDainian Crazy Thunder
Matho
Robert Stover
Colton
Ashley Shelton
Allison
Iona Red Bear
Auntie
Ta-Yamni Long Black Cat
Donny
Wilma Colhof
Mama
Jeremy Corbin Cottier
Baby Worm
Woodrow Lone Elk
Elias
Sprague Hollander
Tim
Jesse Schmockel
Echo
Stanley Good Voice Elk
Dusty
Steven Yellow Hawk
Steven
Jen Mesteth
Jen
Wasose Garcia
Mason
Wakinyan Long Black Cat
Boy 1
Macario Long Black Cat
Boy 2
Jessica Poor Bear
Coltina
Jonathan Center
Johnny
Manuel Garcia
Manny
Xavier Big Crow
Xavier
Jennifer Yellow Bull
Cashier 1
Jordan Robinson
Cashier 2
Schaevon Brewer
Schaevon
Franklin Sioux Bob
Arnie
Sharay Brewer
Arnie's Girlfriend
Darrell Martin
Scrapper
Nenah Mesteth
Girl in the Locker
Peter Hill
Mr. Hill
Taysha Ecoffey
Savannah
Persayag Parker
Schoolgirl
Anjeliq Aurora
Carly
Art Ecoffey Sr.
Arnie's Friend
Teressa Shangreaux Colhoff
Tim's Girlfriend
Cole Glade Sr.
Guy
Rob Stover
Fighter
Ezekiel Pourier
Zeke
Director, Writer
Riley Keough
Director, Writer
Gina Gammell
Writer
Franklin Sioux Bob
Writer
Bill Reddy
June 14, 2023
6
This starts off as quite an interesting observation of two young men growing up on the Pine Ridge reservation for the Oglala Lakota tribe in rural Dakota. It principally centres on the young "Bill" (JoJo Bapteise Whiting) who is juggling two girlfriends, two young children, and aspirations to buy and breed a rather mangy looking poodle! When he happens by a successful farmer whose car has broken down by the side of the road, he sees a way to make some extra cash. The two men click and pretty soon "Bill" is packaging turkey jerky by the bucketload! Meantime, the younger "Matho" (LaDainian Crazy Thunder) has been thrown out of his father's home after he and his pals compromised his cocaine business by adding a little epsom salts to their distribution network! Both stories see the men and their friends and families trying to get by in a community that seems to exist for the sake of it. Poodles notwithstanding, there seems little structure to their lives nor much point to anything. Opportunities are sparse and family loyalties only appear to endure when convenient. It's actually quite a depressing story that I couldn't help wonder might not have been worthy of watching at all, had it not been for the native American aspects to the production and plot. Despite that increasingly prevailing downbeat theme, there is something likeable about Whiting's characterisation of the wayward "Bill" - a man who does seem to at least want to escape the relentlessness of their existence. The ending is weak, though, and frankly really quite daft and as an whole, the film does drag a bit across the two hours of rather soporifically scored, slowly paced, drama. It's worth a watch, but it's not great.