Sioux City

I've always liked Lou Diamond Phillips and I thought this was a well done and entertaining movie. I'm coming to it late, but that's okay. Interesting native American spirit to it as well, which I've always found to be intriguing and beautiful.

Life in society and working 44 hour shifts as a medical intern has doctor Lou Diamond Phillips exhausted as his birthday approaches. But his loving adoptive mother Melinda Dillon insists, and Phillips opens a mysterious gift he finds only to see it's from his natural mother, a Sioux, and decides to visit her while on an enforced sabbatical. Going back to the place of his first, he finds out that his mother is dead and comes to the realization that she was murdered. He gets little help from the local law (led by Pa Walton himself, Ralph Waite), and eventually two amazing women (Salli Richardson and Lise Cutler) come into his life to help him as well as his natural maternal grandfather (Apesanahkwat), but it's up to Phillips to find out the truth and he must do so with the spiritual guidance of the woman who gave him birth. The gentle performance of Lou Diamond Phillips is terrific, so natural that it never appears that he's acting. With gorgeous long hair and a sweet face, he's lovingly appreciative of the people who took him in, but desperate to reconnect with who he really is, and that's wonderful to witness. Both Richardson and Cutler create memorable characterizations, and it's easy to see why he would be attracted to both women. But he can only choose one. Apesanahkwat is amazing as his medicine man grandfather, playing a role of wisdom and heart, and Waite is a sensational villain. The beating Phillips takes from Waite's deputies is near fatal and horrifying to watch, but all it did was make me want to see justice served and for Phillips and his late mother (Tantoo Cardinal) find closure and peace. A genuine sleeper that had me hooked.

I really liked this movie but I like Indian stories. This was a good yesteryear of a civilized Indian going back to his roots to solve the mystery of his birth mothers past. The full story comes out at the end. I've seen Lou play some good roles.

At one time Many beautiful Native American children were adopted by Caucasian parents, and that is represented here in this wonderful story, Sioux City of a Beverly Hills Jewish family adopting a 4 year old Native American boy. A beautifully tragic story of love and loss in the backdrop of Conflicting cultures, racism, and spiritual awakening.

I am an Ojibwe American Indian. Once again I endured yet another Hollywood film that hopes to be a story about American Indians. And fails. As have so many. Phillips is a tiny part Cherokee. All his acting adult life he has used that tiny edge to star in some of the most awful films and TV series where he plays some ango writer'0s version of an American Indian. And fails. This one he actually produced. Some reviewers gave it a high rating. It is clear that when people know nothing at all about American Indians they can make up a story and pretend, with their good intentions, that they have done something. And failed yet again. Everything here is wpng. The story is trite and shallow. The great exploration of tribal beliefs is laughable. The painted chicken feathers pretending to be Eagle Feathers are everywhere. It is just sad how incorrect every detail truly is, even though Phillips was certain he was making something great. It is boring beyond endurance. The writing is childish. Most of the actors are stumbling, unprepared, and just foolish. Fail on all counts. But at least he had such good intentions.

Hard for me to suspend enough disbelief to watch this movie. Having grown up in Sioux City, I am aware that there are no Lakota Sioux reservations near there. Closest one is a Winnebago reservation in Nebraska. Lakota Sioux are further west in north central Nebraska and central South Dakota and have several reservations there. Dakota Sioux are more predominant in Sioux City. I also feel that the premise of the movie is somewhat demeaning to the people of the region. Additionally, I remember there being a strong push for the tribes to keep their children within the tribe and to try to raise them with the tribal heritage. A couple from Beverly Hills seems pretty far-fetched to the reality of this adoption scenario.