Beginning as a novel expressing the injustices faced by Native Americans, Yves Simoneau has taken Brown’s 1970 bestseller and transformed into a truly spectacular historical film. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee follows the life of Native American writer, physician, and reformer, Charles Eastman (Adam Beach). The movie takes viewers through his war-shaken Sioux childhood of introversion and reluctance and into his American adulthood dedicated to working in favor of the Indian welfare. Battles are fought and treaties are signed before Charles’s very eyes as he witnesses “the epic fall of the American Indian.”
Alongside Charles, Elaine Goodale Eastman (Anna Paquin) helps to improve life for Sioux Indians living on the reservation. Other major characters in the film include Senator Henry Dawes (Aidan Quinn), an architect of government policy on Indian affairs and Sitting Bull (August Schellenberg), the proud Sioux chief who declines to give in to U.S. government. The acting is generally great, very believable with scarcely a hint of woodenness.
I personally enjoyed the movie, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The stunning landscape photography and amazing, suspenseful music coupled with the improved and near-historically-accurate plotline made it a worthwhile film. The most astounding scene in the film, the one where General Custer is surrounded by the circles of mounted Sioux Indians substantially explains my judgment.
All-in-all, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is an excellent movie. While it may not sport all the famous Hollywood stars you love on the big screen, it does compensate with a great plotline, cinematography, soundtrack, and a lasting aftertaste. The film’s end not only leaves you saddened by all the innocent Sioux who lost their lives to the once unfairness of the U.S. government but also educates you of this tragic historical fault so that we can make sure it never repeats in the future. I would recommend everyone thirteen and older to watch this Emmy-won Outstanding Made for Television Movie.