Waste of time

Don't Believe the Hype

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I was surprised by the negative reviews of this movie. I found it entrancing. It's a glimpse into a different culture, and a different way of thinking.I don't believe this is a ghost story, as much as a taste of a different world view. I loved the Original American sensibility that permeates the film-- from the slow, considering way of speaking, through the belief that visions are real, to the effort to show that the unspoken of the past must be brought to light for harmony to prevail. The actors are so believable. I ended up with empathy for everyone (and want to know more of their story-- hint hint)The movie caught the insular nature of a small, isolated community. Until you've spent a fair bit of time in one, you wouldn't believe the power that authority figures have. Unless you've been around Catholics or Protestants of the older generation, you wouldn't believe the power that a priest can have. Unfortunately, I've experienced both, and the aunt/priest/lock-up-the- truth-sayer scenario rang true to me.I think that the European American scientist character is supposed to be a device to represent a modern western view of the situation. It is a little raggedy, but that's OK because the story is so powerful on its own that the character is a non-interfering sidelight to the story. I look forward to watching more films by these writers and directors.

I saw this movie because it was rated 9.5 at this site on April 9, 2010. Minutes into the film, I could tell that this was rating was due only to the subject matter and not the quality of the film itself. The script and acting are mediocre to poor, and the story is predictable from start to finish. If you don't know Native American history, this film should be an eye-opener. If you do, as I did before watching the movie, you will be pleased to see that this important aspect of Native American history was made into a movie. If only it had been made into a movie worth seeing. I could see that everyone involved with the making of the film tried their best, but it didn't work. Very disappointed. 9.5? No, it's just a 5.

Government worker Luke Patterson (Bradley Cooper) goes to a small Native American reservation to find out about a mild earthquake there. He becomes friends with the Indian Chief of Police (Adam Beach) and finds an abandoned school building where the earthquake took place. It seems some very mysterious and horrifying events took place there years ago--but the church and some local officials are covering it up. But things are starting to happen and the building may be haunted by creepy dead children.**DEFINITE SPOILERS!** This is based on true events. It seems up until the early 70s, Indian children were taken from their parents and forced to attend a Catholic school. There they were told to speak English only and worship God. If they disobeyed they were punished severely. This works into the story and it's downright horrifying. I knew nothing about this and, it seems, it's STILL not talked about. Filmmaker Georgina Lightning was very brave to get funding for this and get it released. ""END SPOILERS**Totally engrossing. I was never bored for one minute. I saw it at a film festival and the audience got so caught up in it they were actually gasping and saying "no" when the villain went after the good guys. Cooper's (who's excellent) story gets sidetracked completely after the first 30 minutes. Then it throws you head first into a story involving murders, ghosts, child abuse (VERY disturbing), visions, electro shock treatments--this movie doesn't hold back. It is difficult to watch but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Disturbing and difficult but always fascinating. A 10 all the way.

The story of American Indian boarding schools needs to be told. In the past Indian children were taken from their parents, often forcibly, and put into highly-regimented schools designed to eradicate all signs of their "savagery." Use of Indian languages in these schools was forbidden and harshly punished.This movie probably should have been a "period place" showing the experiences of an Indian child thrust into the soul-killing world of the boarding school. Perhaps it was feared this approach would limit the size of the audience. In any case we get a modern-day story, set in northern Minnesota, in which a boarding school is glimpsed only occasionally in brief flashbacks. Surrounding these flashbacks lies a plot cluttered with a bewildering number of elements: the arrogance of the Catholic Church, shock treatments, commercial development of sacred Indian lands, an election for mayor pitting a white man against a red man, gambling casinos, a love story, hallucinations and visions, family secrets leading to tensions, a bizarre crucifixion-style murder, etc. There's even a subplot involving a geologist investigating earthquakes! All this clutter is unnecessary and self-defeating because the story which the movie wants to tell is strong enough as it is. It doesn't need to be "packaged" with elements which tend to detract from it rather than enhance it.