Softwing
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Cheryl
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
kevinannan1977
This is a decent movie of the week. It is nothing special like most dramatic movie of the week shows, with a limited budget and some overacting by some of the actors etc. It is a bit too melodramatic at times but it is still believably dramatic because it is based on the real events of Dudley George and the standoff that happened. This is good to watch because it shows a lot of the events that happened during the standoff and we all know what happens but it shows how things got to where they did, and why. I'm not sure how accurate and true the story is because I don't know that much about it but it's a good story with some real drama and you could do a lot worse with your time than watching this made for TV movie.
beckydoo96
This was the best portrayal i have ever seen Dakota House do. I think the family of Dudley George should be very proud of this movie which will hopefully bring more awareness to all the wrong doings of our justice system. With more movies about aboriginals being mistreated by the police perhaps it will open up enough eyes to make some good changes to our hypocritical justice system. Could there possibly be a movie in the making about the starlight tour victims??????????????PLEASE!!!In closing, I'd just like to say Dakota House should get a Grammy award for his performance in this movie.....and all the other actors were awesome too....I cried through the last hour!!!
rps-2
This was a solid effort that pulled no punches, sort of a docu-drama about one of the darker pages of Ontario history, the shooting of an unarmed Indian protester by the Ontario Provincial Police during the native occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park on Lake Huron. It seems accurate (from my recollection of the events) and although it perhaps wisely does not attempt to portray Premier Michael Harris, the "tough guy" behind the shooting, it does use an actual clip of him in the Ontario Legislature and it reconstructs an actual phone call which revealed the political pressure that was put on the OPP. It's a gutsy and well done film but I doubt that CTV will be getting any commendations from the OPP. Although their senior people come off reasonably well, those "on the ground" that night come off looking a little worse than storm troopers. This is the sort of thing CBC does well now and then. It's encouraging that CTV now also occasionally runs good Canadian stuff like this instead of its usual diet of US trash. For an Ontario audience the story is quite clear. Elsewhere in Canada and certainly outside the country, it may need a little more backgrounding.
Richard Maurer (ram-30)
Let's look at this TV movie from an analysis of it's director and principal performers.Director Tim Southam - At times, he tries to be Hitchcock and Tarentino but mostly he tries to develop of his own Canadian style. His Hitchcockian touches include a firecracker scene teasing the audience into envisioning the inevitable gunshots. His Tarentinian touches include an opening scene whose blurred and frantic camera work is reminiscent of "Reservoir Dogs"( or "21 Grams") where Dudley's sister is racing to the hospital with her brother's bleeding body in the back and serves as the link between present scenes and flashbacks. His own personal touches include the incorporation of Native American culture in his film such as sweet grass smudging and pow-wow music. One poignant scene has the Gary Farmer character being smudged with sweet grass as a legal oath of honesty. This is neatly contrasted with Sgt. Deane, the white O.P.P., who is later sworn in with the Bible. Gary Farmer(SMOKE SIGNALS) His character is the wise elder who reminds the youth on a scene by a lake shore, that the Ipperwash conflict is not a culmination of past struggles (60 years by the movie's account) but it is more a promise for future claims. He, Dudley George and the other Chippewa protesters are doing all this for their future.Dakota House("North of Sixty")- He is perfectly cast as Dudley George, the self proclaimed "natural born a**hole", who moons the cops while flipping them profanities and the bird. Dudley's legacy is not due to any heroic or honourable deed. The legacy is in the ensuing inquiry where the justice department, in a move I pray will be copied, shows that there are not two separate laws, one for the Indians and one for the Government and Police Force, which was the concern of Dudley's brother Sam.Eric Schweig(THE MISSING) - Eric Schweig plays Sam George, Dudley's brother. His performance here is strong enough. However, anyone who saw the similarly themed TV movie "Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story" will experience deja vu as Schweig plays virtually the same character: the torment brother of the slain Indian protagonist who has visions of his brother's spirit throughout.Gordon Tootoosis(LONE STAR) - Fans of Gordon Tootoosis will be disappointed that Gary Farmer got the wise elder role and Tootoosis' character will be best remembered as the dirty old man who flirts awkwardly with the female cop. He does have one serious scene where he talks to Dudley on the bus on the night of the shooting. We find in this scene that Dudley was on the verge of overcoming his troublesome past at the time of the shooting, but this scene is unmemorable and Tootoosis's talents are wasted.Gabrielle Miller("Corner Gas") - She plays an aide to Ontario premier Harris. Her story seems to be a totally useless subtext. At the end of the film, before the credits, there is a "JFK" conspiracy moment that partly justifies this subtext but mostly this whole subtext belongs in a documentary. (See DEATH AT IPPERWASH)Overall, "One Dead Indian" is an adept portrait of a story that promises to be an important jigsaw piece in the puzzle of First Nations justice.