Skins

Rating:
Summary: Angry, honest, compelling
Review: Chris Eyre's second feature, "Skins," takes a hard, unswerving look at the harsh conditions on the Pine Ridge reservation of South Dakota, not far from Mount Rushmore. Eric Schweig is outstanding as Rudy Yellow Lodge, a world-weary tribal cop who's embarrassed by the antics of his alcoholic brother, Mogie (Graham Greene, who carries the film's pain in his character.)The lighting is sometimes too dark, and the pace is plodding at times, with too many loose ends in the plot. Still, it's a unique view and a real eye-opener for those whose perception of the Lakota culture comes from "Dances With Wolves."

Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining, emotionally powerful, deeply spiritual
Review: Eric Schweig, in one of his best roles since "Last of the Mohicans" plays dedicated cop and shadow-vigilante Rudy, while trying to holding his family together, including his alcoholic brother Mogie (Graham Greene in a critically underrated performance). Filmed entirely on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, viewers get a sense of the deep bindings of family in Lakota culture along with the deplorable living conditions perpetrated by decades of broken promises and abuse from the American government. Highly recommend, and prepare to be moved.

Rating:
Summary: From Dances with Wolves to Wallowing in Beer!
Review: Graham Greene was cast in the role of a Lakota (Sioux) Shaman in "Dances with Wolves" with Kevin Costner. The chemistry between Graham and Kevin made the movie what it was, a classic tale about Native Americans. They were a magnificent culture that was crushed needlessly by the migration of Whites to the west. Hundreds of treaties were made and then broken by greedy Whites, resulting in numerous reservations. Graham plays "Mogie" in the movie "Skins," and once again there is the same chemistry between Graham and the lead role of Rudy Yellow Lodge, played by Eric Schweig. Both roles are played in a compelling manner. It is the type of gutsey, independent, outside of Hollywood films that I love. Mogie is a decorated Viet Nam veteran in process of drinking himself to death on what is called the "rez," the Pine Ridge Reservation next to Mount Rushmore and the Custer Monument. Reservation life involves harsh poverty, high unemployment, substance abuse and .... worse yet, Lakota versus Lakota violence. The uncomfortable question this movie poses to its audience is what do you do to rehabilitate a once noble culture after a crushing history of genocide. Or more to the point, support a culture to rehabilitate itself. Lakota actors and actresses making Lakota theme movies is an important step in the right direction.Despite the lack of "polish" afforded to high budget Hollywood movies, I would give "Skins" five stars on pure guts alone. It is a statement the wider White culture desperately needs to consider. The statement is well worth the five stars also. America would do well to learn from such people of the earth who have lived in oneness with nature without pollution for thousands of years. Whatever Graham wants to dance with or wallow in for future movies will probably be well worth the price, as he is a veteran actor at the top of his game. I am also hoping to see Eric again in similar movies.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful film
Review: I absolutely loved this film. A gripping story that will leave you thinking about the characters days after you've seen the film. Sad, yet still uplifting and inspirational.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Smoke Signals
Review: I just saw this film at the Native American Museum in New York during it's premiere in this city. It's an amazing film. Darker and more thought provoking than Smoke Signals, it still maintains the sense of humor so characteristic of Chris Eyre's work. The story takes place in Pine Ridge County, SD, which is, as we quickly learn from the film, the poorest county in the United States. It is also Oglala Lakota Indian reservation. The film is shot on location, with all the starkness of the surroundings carefully exposed. The narrative revolves around two brothers. Rudy (Eric Schweig) is a cop and a vigilante, who is using legal and extra-legal means to help his community. Moggy (Graham Greene) is a triple Purple Heart Vietnam veteran and a chronic alcoholic who tries to maintain a sense of humor in face of misery and depression. Deep love between the brothers serves as the backbone of the plot. Things get out of hand when Rudy's vigilantism causes Moggy's suffering. Chris Eyre employs both tragic and comic elements to give the film a fresh and unique dynamic. And a provocative ending.

Rating:
Summary: possibly one of my favorite movies
Review: I really liked this movie because it reminded me of experiences in my life and I felt that everything that was done in bringing the experience to film was accurate and done respectfully to the content. This is a fine film that may be hard to watch, definitely not one to watch with the kids, but well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: A very revealing film
Review: I recently saw this film and must say that it has become one of my all-time favorite movies, solely for the realisitic portrayal it gives of today's reservations.

Contrary to the report given by an earlier reviewer, Pine Ridge is in SOUTH Dakota, not North. I grew up in South Dakota nearly all my life, and I taught at an Indian school. I saw, sometimes first hand, what the reservation life entailed, and it was depressing. This movie does a good job of encompassing one of the reservation's most prevalent threats at this time: alcoholism.

I've been a fan of Graham Greene ever since Dances With Wolves, although I don't consider that movie a stellar example of historically accurate film making.

For the past few years, I've read about the debate regarding the liquor stores in White Clay, NE. Although I realize that those people may be making a tidy profit off the Indians in Pine Ridge, people must realize that alcoholics will drive ANY distance to get their booze -- White Clay and further. You cannot blame the store owners for providing the booze. You're blaming the wrong people.

For those who don't see the significance of the bear trap scene: I think it is a statement about the current climate of the reservations, the way native people turn against each other in today's depressing reservations. The alcoholism has brought in crime and distrust among the people of the reservations, and it's startling to see the decline.

I gave this film 4 out of 5 stars only because I found the scenes with the main character (Eric Schweig) having an affair as distracting and not relevant. It seems to me as if there should have been more to that story, but there wasn't.

All in all, I would highly recommend this story to anyone interested in Native American history, or in the history of the United States in general.

Rating:
Summary: Skin on Skins
Review: I saw Skins last night as part of the Bozeman Film Festival. My wife had read the book and really enjoyed it, so I picked up the book and read it also. The movie was pretty true to the book except for a couple key characters missing. Overall I thought the movies was entertaining except for the low budget they spent on the production. You could definitely tell it was an indie film. Another thing that bothered me was when the characters were explaining the Massacre at Wounded Knee to a boy how upset they got. If you did'nt know better, you would of thought it happened yesterday. Most Lakota's I know, including myself, don't walk around with a intense anger for something that happened over a hundred years ago. Although I think we should never forget what happened. The best part of the movie for me was the end. I won't give that away, let's just say is something every Lakota would love to do.

Rating:
Summary: TYTE MOVIE!!!
Review: I seen the movie "Skins" over and over!!! I saw it once, and loved it!!! I watch it like everyday!!! I think it's the best movie ever!!! Chris Eyre has done an EXCELLENT job on this movie!!! He is an awesome director!!! He deserves to get some kind of award for this movie!!! The actors in this movie were also EXCELLENT!!! They all did an EXCELLENT job!!! As a Native American, I walk away from this movie with PRIDE!!! Native Pride!!!

Rating:
Summary: A messy movie with a powerfully-packed message
Review: My thoughts are torn over "Skins," one of the few films to chronicle the sad, wasted lives of Native Americans and the bloody history that has informed the misfortunes of nearly an entire culture.

Directed by Chris Eyre, the movie undeniably has powerful scenes, not the least of which is the closing image, which involves a debasement of Mount Rushmore.

For me, the lasting image from "Skins" is the sight of a local (Gary Farmer) killed by a bear trap set by neighbors. A disbelieving reservation cop (Eric Schwieg) wants an explanation for it -- the bear trap, why nobody answered the obvious calls for help -- and there is none. Not plausible, anyway. So many of the Natives' problems have their roots in something, whether it be a history of abuse or lack of opportunities, but they do not justify much of the mindlessness that has invaded the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Eyre knows that, and to prove his point he makes that cop, Rudy Yellow Lodge, a vigilante who beats criminals and burns down Nebraska liquor shops in his off hours. His efforts, essentially, are just as fruitless as anything else: The drunks still get drunk, the reservation remains mostly hopeless, and the brutal past cannot be changed.

Which brings me to the other side of my thoughts: "Skins," while powerful, is poorly made. The editing, the documentary-style camerawork, some of the acting -- it's simply left wanting. Given the subject matter on the table, the absolute dead-in-the-eye importance of it, it probably sounds like quibbling to criticize production values. Nevertheless, I mention it, because it stands in the way of a better film. You look at "The Fast Runner," an amazing achievement shot on a similar small budget in far harsher conditions, and you get an idea of what "Skins" is lacking. "The Fast Runner" is a masterpiece film generations will return to. Some have hailed "Skins" that way, and it'd be nice if that were true, but the proof isn't on the print.

When "Skins" does work, it's usually because Graham Greene is onscreen. Greene is Rudy's older brother, Mogie, a relentless-if-remorseful drunk, a failed promise apparently wrecked by a tour in Vietnam. He ambles around the package stores just across the border in Nebraska when he's not working his brother into a frenzy; the fun ends when Rudy torches a liquor store while Mogie's inside trying to left some booze.

That happens at the halfway point, and "Skins" then shifts into nothingness. The bear trap scene aside, not a lot happens in the movie's final half -- Rudy and Mogie acknowledge the big fire, but never work themselves up over it, while Mogie tries to make peace with his teenage son (Noah Watts). Basically, the last 30 minutes are an elongated "final days" sequence for Greene.

The final scene is the attention-getter most remember. I admit, it's well-conceived, but the execution of it is amateurish. If you understand editing, you'll wonder why, when the movie's only amazing camera shot is revealed, this shot lasts, at most, two seconds. It aptly sums up "Skins," a movie with a lot to say, and poor visual strategies in which to tell it.