Dances with Wolves (1990)

Oy. The winner for Best Picture of 1990, Dances with Wolves is a shining example of just how wrong the Academy can be at times. Nothing about this film is particularly notable, and nothing about it seems award-worthy. In fact, it is an intensely long, dull slog through a series of cliches. Almost three hours in length, this film has only one point in its favor: it is beautifully shot, particularly the scenes of Lakota Sioux life. Otherwise, I can't imagine how members of the Academy managed to sit through this film and still believe it was the best work of that year.

Kevin Costner plays John J. Dunbar, a Civil War-era soldier who is assigned to the most remote fort on the frontier. He actually wants the post because he believes that the frontier is going to vanish and he wishes to experience it before he's gone. (He's sort of the prairie version of Nostradamus.) Isolated in his new job, Dunbar has little to do besides befriend a wolf who likes to visit now and then and befriend members of the neighboring tribe of Lakota Sioux. This tribe, oddly enough, has in its midst a white woman (Stands with a Fist) whom they have harbored since she was a little girl. She and Dunbar fall in love, naturally, keeping the lines of the different ethnicities distinct. Dunbar slowly becomes more inclined to live according to Lakota ways, the military shows up at his fort and brands him a traitor, he's rescued and returns to the people he chooses to call family, and on and on. It's not as if you can't imagine what is going to happen next at each point in the story. Almost every plot point is telegraphed to you.

I suppose a lot of people in 1990 were in awe of this film because of its sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans (well, unless, of course, you are a member of the Pawnee tribe, that is, those bloodthirsty killers). Of course, portraying the tribes sympathetically wasn't new in 1990. It had been done many times before (and not only in films). I suspect it had more to do with the fact that a "movie star" had attached his name to the project. Suddenly, that brought it more prestige and respect. And that's a shame. Many good films about Native Americans made before and since Dances with Wolves have been overlooked for movies like this that make white people feel better about themselves, and many of them are far more credible.

I guess my biggest complaint has to do with Costner himself. This isn't truly a film about the Native Americans. It's a film about John Dunbar and his reaction to them. And the hokiest part of the film is the opening sequence where Costner blatantly turns his character into a Christ figure; it's teeth-grindingly annoying, frankly. Dunbar also seems to be the only good white man on the frontier. Everyone else is crazy or filled with blood lust or greedy--you name a sin, and there's a white character who represents it. If the film had suggested that Dunbar became a better person through his contact with the Lakota, I could perhaps accept it more readily, but he's shown to be so intelligent and understanding and...well, good throughout the movie that I am hard pressed to notice any difference in his character at the end of the movie. And it doesn't help matters that Costner is a pretty lousy actor. I've enjoyed his performances in a few films (Silverado, Bull Durham, The Upside of Anger), but he seems to be competent only when he plays flawed characters. Durham is too much of a saint for someone of Costner's meager talents. And that includes his directing abilities. You want to know why everyone said the Academy owed Martin Scorsese an Oscar a couple of years ago? Here's one reason: In 1990, the members bypassed Scorsese, who was nominated for Goodfellas, in order to award Costner and this bloated epic.

I guess I am being a bit unfair, though. There are really two things to recommend about this film. I have already mentioned the cinematography, which is beautiful. I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the great performances given by the Native American members of the cast. Graham Greene as Kicking Bird is spectacular. He brings a sense of gravity and humor to the role; he's fascinating to watch. I also liked Rodney Grant as Wind in His Hair, the hot-tempered warrior who slowly comes to accept Dunbar as a friend. Grant gets the flashier part, and he runs with it. He gets to show anger and joy and pride and hurt and pleasure--it's quite a range. These two and the other Native American actors have so few opportunities to show their talents in mainstream film; it's a pleasure to see them work here. Perhaps if the film had only concentrated upon their lives and left Dunbar out of the story altogether...well, I suppose we can't have everything. Except, of course, an undeserved Oscar for Best Picture.