Chaplin
Better off silent
One of the more underrated films of the last 15 years, Thunderheart (along with the previous year's The Doors) helped to make Val Kilmer a more serious movie star--indeed, his choice of projects before and after this film is an amazing thing in itself. His first theatrical film was Top Secret!, and from there he went on to star in Real Genius before his big break as Iceman in 1986's Top Gun. Since then, he has actually been in at least two movies per year. Pretty amazing since nobody seems to be aware of it.
In this film, he plays Ray Levoi, a brash hotshot FBI agent in Washington. Turns out, he's an eighth Cherokee, and because of that, he is sent to the Badlands in South Dakota to investigate a murder. What he finds is a sort of civil war between pro-Government and pro-Tribal Indians. But he also finds something in himself--his connection to the Sioux Indians he is there to investigate.
I love movies where the main characters go through changes--frequently, those changes are minor, if at all. In this film, however, the change in Levoi is pretty extreme, and Kilmer really shines as the agent who discovers his heritage.
The great Graham Greene has perhaps his greatest role (equalling if not besting his role in Dances With Wolves) as the grounded yet spiritual police officer Crowhorse. Sam Shepard is his typically greasy self as Kilmer's mentor who may or may not be instigating and taking sides in this "civil war". And Ted Thin Elk is magnificent as Sam Reaches, the old medicine man who sees something in Levoi, something he himself begins to recognize in the form of visions and other mystical happenings.
The story itself is quite complicated--dealing with both sides of a complicated issue and of course, the goal of gaining more land. The cinematography does a terrific job of showing both the majesty of South Dakota and the overwhelming poverty of the reservation. Very powerful stuff.
Director Michael Apted was so affected by the subject matter, he produced a documentary after this film entitled Incident at Ogalala.
Here is Amazon's description:
In this film, he plays Ray Levoi, a brash hotshot FBI agent in Washington. Turns out, he's an eighth Cherokee, and because of that, he is sent to the Badlands in South Dakota to investigate a murder. What he finds is a sort of civil war between pro-Government and pro-Tribal Indians. But he also finds something in himself--his connection to the Sioux Indians he is there to investigate.
I love movies where the main characters go through changes--frequently, those changes are minor, if at all. In this film, however, the change in Levoi is pretty extreme, and Kilmer really shines as the agent who discovers his heritage.
The great Graham Greene has perhaps his greatest role (equalling if not besting his role in Dances With Wolves) as the grounded yet spiritual police officer Crowhorse. Sam Shepard is his typically greasy self as Kilmer's mentor who may or may not be instigating and taking sides in this "civil war". And Ted Thin Elk is magnificent as Sam Reaches, the old medicine man who sees something in Levoi, something he himself begins to recognize in the form of visions and other mystical happenings.
The story itself is quite complicated--dealing with both sides of a complicated issue and of course, the goal of gaining more land. The cinematography does a terrific job of showing both the majesty of South Dakota and the overwhelming poverty of the reservation. Very powerful stuff.
Director Michael Apted was so affected by the subject matter, he produced a documentary after this film entitled Incident at Ogalala.
Here is Amazon's description:
You must be registered for see images attach
