Lightdeossk
Captivating movie !
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Bergorks
If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
dcb4-951-303700
Lets get this out of the way, the movie was just OK. But the story, the history... congratulations to Lightning for helping get this story out. I read many comments about "boarding schools" and "1970s" and the "US." It's important to note that Lightning is Canadian. The truth behind the fictional story presented here is very much Canadian. As is always the case, it was a Canadian story set in the US to sell it better (see ARGO). The residential school system existed until 1996! Alberta, where Lightning hails from, had the greatest concentration of these institutions. The Residential School system is widely referred to as "Canada's Holocaust" due to the cultural genocide perpetrated against First Nations people by various Church organizations and the Canadian government. So again, congratulations Lightning for helping to raise awareness for this important subject. Too bad the truth is so buried below a sub par fictional story and an unnecessary Americanization of Canadian history.
jimmyd-831-18370
A native American horror movie? "older than America" Is a native American thriller/ drama/ horror based on an Indian reservation. In the beginning the movie follows a geologist that has come to the reservation to investigate an earthquake that is uncommon in those parts. That story is kinda of a parallel story that never merges with the main story of the move. The main story centers around a school that was abusive to native American kids. It also follows the main character rain and her problems with seeing things that aren't really there. After looking at how the movie has two stories that never merge, how it is poorly directed, and by how it does not have an interesting story line I say that this is a bad quality movie.*As someone who enjoys a good thriller/ drama/ horror movie I thought the director Did not do a good job directing the movie. The two stories never really merge which leads me to come to the conclusion that the first story was just a filler for time Or they just wanted to add a famous face to the mix, Bradley cooper. interestingly The director was actually in the movie and though i understand it is hard to find Native American actors she should have spent more time actually directing the movie and the acting seemed mediocre at best.. The camera angles were subpar and I thought that the lighting was also not quality as it is hard to see some parts.The abuse of native American children during that time is a real and serious issue. The plot of this movie did not really do that serious part of history justice. The serious truths were cluttered by flashbacks, scenes of electroshock therapy, people building resorts on sacred land, and a deranged priest, Only to show small flashbacks of a boarding school that should have been mentioned a great deal more. At the end the movie gives some pretty gruesome facts about native American children in boarding school which implies it wants to get across a serious message. It simply does not.To a person who is interested in watching poor quality movies, this is A great movie for you to watch. Many elements of the story clutter what should be the actual intention of the movie, The directing is subpar, and it is simply not an interesting story. The movie was originally released in 2008 under the title of " older than America" and was re- released in 2012 under the title "american Evil". This movie also went straight to DVD. These fact show that No one really ever wanted to watch it and i'm not even sure it was intended to be a quality movie that people wanted to watch.
sitabanu
What can I say? As an African-American the experience of the Indian-American is an exercise in parallels in many ways. Still, 1975 America is like Australia for the aborigine and the Maori of New Zealand. So much horror has been done in the name of the Christian God that it begs the question why any non-European wears the cross. This was less a movie than an historical journey into the time when all aboriginal people worldwide were subjected to the death of their cultures to save the savage men, women and children by the most unforgiving and brutal heathens calling themselves called to do the work of god. How can one have an identity when the spirit is broken and the psyche is fractured? This is an abject lesson for humanity founded on the religious principle that debt is the best slavery and the seeking of everlasting forgiveness of those debts keeps strong the invisible chains of bondage. Know thyself must mean more than what the European wants you to know about your ancestry. For the people who thought the acting was not so good well somethings are better left for historic value and not subjected to Hollywood's version as in "Dancing With Wolves," although I loved Two Socks!
Michael Zimmers
I can hardly express my disappointment in this film. A premise with lots of potential was utterly wasted by a plot line that was both underdeveloped and meandering, soapy dialog and acting that was....just awful.Worse yet, though, was the inescapable feeling that the director was trying to grind an ax. I won't go into details because I don't wish to enter spoiler territory, but it was pretty obvious that this film was less about a story than it was an agenda. The cheap, unbalanced potshots at all-too-easy targets were tiresome and trite over a decade ago; in a contemporary film, they were just plain sad. In the end, I felt angry, but not at the film's intended targets.This film would have been a waste of money had I not seen it on Netflix, but it was still a waste of time. Nothing much to recommend it.