Genres

Visitors Review

kberg 2012-05-23 17:31:33

Humanizes a Stereotype...

Caught the premiere of "Skins" at the Sundance Film Festival onMonday, Jan. 14, 2002. This is an excellent film and a finesophomore effort from director Chris Eyre. Graham Greene givesa multi-layered performance as the tragic Mokie... a drunken Indianhumanized maybe on film for the first time. Eyre said afterwardsthat every drunk is someone's uncle, someone's father,someone's brother. He isn't into victimology but puts the issuesout there for all of us to own... and be responsible for. The otherlead actor is Eric Schweig, who gives a brilliant performance asMokie's younger brother, a rez cop who turns vigilante. There wereone or two performers who were a little wooden (no pun intended).At one point the pipe carrier climbs on his soapbox and he soundsamateurish and rehearsed. But overall, the performances aresolid. Also... its important to note that this is a film with Indians inmost, if not all, of the major creative positions and it stands tall onits own merits. Many laughs and a few tears. Genuinely movingfilm. Highly recommended. Washtay do! Pidamayah, Chris!

2012-05-23 10:01:04

Skins will keep your attention!

Is a terrific and well produced movie with great actors in it!

Edward Guthmann 2012-05-20 17:19:37

Played by Graham Greene ... in one of the year's best performances, [Mogie's] a fully dimensional character.

Mark Holcomb 2012-05-20 00:44:14

As social exposé, Skins has its heart in the right place, but that's not much to hang a soap opera on.

2012-05-12 15:52:24

Highly entertaining, emotionally powerful, deeply spiritual

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.

2012-05-11 19:56:55

possibly one of my favorite movies

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.

whiteowl_3 2012-05-07 11:58:16

A good interpretation of the trials of the modern Aboriginal Person, a well thought out film.

I enjoyed this film a lot. So many times are Aboriginal People shown inthe Romantic Period (i.e. prairie bareback horse riding, warriors, etc)It may not be Chris' finest edit, but a well thought out film. Theactors did their jobs and the film was made on the Pine Ridge Reserve.It shows both ends of the spectrum when it comes to First Natiosnpeople. Those effected negatively by the modern world, and those who'veovercome it's tragedies.Chris Eyre is great at getting at the truth, many people find some ofthe content offensive, because it touches home. People have said "thishappened to my family," and this is because it has. This is real life.

2012-05-07 09:58:24

A messy movie with a powerfully-packed message

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.

Richard Roeper 2012-05-04 20:50:36

A mild, reluctant, thumbs down.

2012-05-04 07:56:28

Morally Bankrupt

This review is from: Skins (DVD) Sorry, but I have to disagree with all these high ratings. I was extremely disappointed with this movie and I am still even a bit depressed by it.The acting is good, the setting is marvelous and the story is real -- but only real if you're fine with protagonists who represent the lowest common denominator in human moral experience. Rudy Yellow Lodge, the main character, looks like a pretty good guy on the surface. He's a cop. He's intelligent, clean cut, articulate and serious about his work. However, his way of handling his rage is that he goes around at night in blackface and a stocking cap engaged in helpful public services -- breaking some teenager's kneecaps with a baseball bat, torching a liquor store and vandalizing Mt. Rushmore with oil paint. That's the sort of thing he likes to do when he's not busy enabling his alcoholic brother and sleeping with his married girlfriend. What's up with that? I read somewhere that the Sioux are traditionally very family-oriented people, but if this movie was my only source of information, I'd have a very different impression. Not only is Rudy the worst kind of violent criminal -- a cop with no respect for the law -- he's also almost completely remorseless. The kids he sends to the hospital for broken knees confess their actual crime (yes, they murdered someone). All he cares about when he interviews them is: Do they know who messed them up? In other words, do they have ID on him and is he going to jail yet? A brave Lakota warrior in the making. Then, rather than acknowledge to himself that he is creating a lot of pain in people's lives, he attributes many of the tragic consequences of his acts to the contributions of Iktomi, the trickster spirit in Lakota spiritual beliefs. That is because he keeps seeing little spiders. Rudy goes to a sweat lodge to see if he can clear Iktomi out of his life, but do you think that he ever considers, for one minute, changing the hostile and illegal course of his life? Nah. In case you're in doubt about the real theme of this movie, listen closely. It's repeated two or three times and it goes something like this: whatever happens in this life, we have no control. We're completely at the mercy of unseen forces. Right. The clincher is that his brother Mogie, who rarely takes anything seriously, has written Rudy a very long letter on his deathbed, asking him to take good care of his son, because Rudy is the only GOOD role model the kid has. Oh his way back to the Rez, after dumping oil paint on Rushmore, what do you think Rudy sees? It's his 18 year old, handsome nephew trying to thumb a ride out of town! Do you think he turns around, to at least give this kid a lift so he doesn't end up facedown in a ditch somewhere? Heck no! He laughs and drives away! Wow! Even though I totally understand the defacing of Mt. Rushmore, and I understand the appalling poverty depicted in all its truth in this film, I think the Oglala Sioux were very unfavorably portrayed by Chris Eyre. If I were Native American, I'd be asking Eyre to chose another profession quickly -- or at least another subject! And all this time I thought the Cheyenne and the Sioux got along together very well .... What a rotten movie, and what a disgusting portrayal of sadly overlooked and under-represented minority in this country! For once, how about a movie that depicts GOOD pepole who are also Native? That is what they always used to say about the westerns with whooping hostiles scalping everybody. I never thought I'd have to make that complaint about an N.A. producer filming on a real reservation in the 21st century. If Eyre wants to straighten his karma out, how about a movie about the life of Donehogawa?

Jeffrey M. Anderson 2012-04-24 21:40:56

The movie becomes talky and preachy, making grand statements without any of the passion for storytelling that Smoke Signals had.

2012-04-24 10:14:05

~Real life drama's~

Take a walk inside the Pine Ridge Rez and visit the devastating effects of alcohol and hopelessness. Graham Greene turns in a top rate performance here as a Native Veteran who has slowly poisioned himself with alcohol and the effect it has on brother ( Eric Schwig) and his son. Excellent movie with indept character studies, don't miss this one.

2012-04-22 18:10:48

Deeply Emotional

This review is from: Skins (DVD) This movie was well done and well expressed. It balanced the deep emotion with spirituality and humor. Director put a lot of heart into the production as well as the actors. Mr Greene was well worthy of the awards that he won on this roll and what he had to do to get into the character. Anyone who has any interest or links the the native americans should see this movie.

2012-04-22 06:56:09

What can I say?

This review is from: Skins (DVD) GREAT MOVIE! I have YET to see a movie with Graham Greene that WASN'T a fantastic film!

Marshall Fine 2012-04-21 11:26:27

There are so few films about the plight of American Indians in modern America that Skins comes as a welcome, if downbeat, missive from a forgotten front.

Frank Swietek 2012-04-21 06:37:15

There's a certain raggedness and preachiness to the picture, but ultimately its simplicity and basic integrity shine through and compensate for the flaws.

2012-04-20 16:52:36

Incredibly satisfying film

Probably Eric Schweig's best. Of course Graham Greene (in his Madonna shirt) is great too. Not really the 'dark' tale that the reviewers/critics were calling it--maybe it would seem more depressing to people who were previously unaware of life on the Pine Ridge rez and thus were shocked or something? Not sure. But I thought there was so much humor in it--plenty of laughs. And the story is meaningful, the script is tight, direction spot-on. This is a great example of a Native-written Native-made film.

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) 2012-04-20 02:55:37

It is an observant, humane portrait of a couple of fascinatingly complex characters.

2012-04-16 23:43:45

One of the best films I've ever seen

This review is from: Skins (DVD) "Skins" (directed by Chris Eyre) is, to me, one of the best but also saddest films I've ever seen. It's an absorbing story of two brothers on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, one of them, Rudy, a law enforcement officer (Eric Schweig) and the other, Mogie, an alcoholic (Graham Greene). Apart from the brilliance of the performances these two actors deliver, the film addresses such painful issues as alcoholism, domestic violence, social inequality and the demise of a people. We see the bleak reality of everyday life on the reservation - a nation who has been brought to near extinction by the historical events in North America, suffering from the destruction of their traditional social order, is simply trying to survive. Unlike many other films about Native Americans that I've seen, there is no heroism or hope, really, in this one, but there is humour and compassion, despite the overwhelming frustration that permeates every scene.While the overall theme is the situation of Native Americans in today's society, the film also focuses on the universal idea of what is right and what is wrong and whether the end justifies the means - we witness the the inner battles of a human being who is doing bad things for a greater good and who has to live with the fact that with his actions he has unwittingly hurt those dearest to him.The interaction between Rudy and Mogie reveals so much resentment, frustration, hopelessness and yearning that it often brings you to tears, and yet we see that the brothers genuinely care about each other and they are able to enjoy some rare moments of fun together. This has to be one of Graham Greene's best performances ever.I sincerely recommend this to any viewers who are interested in more than just entertainment.

2012-04-16 05:41:02

What can I say?

GREAT MOVIE! I have YET to see a movie with Graham Greene that WASN'T a fantastic film!