Powwow Highway
United States • 1989
Director
Synopsis
The road-movie genre gets a lyrical twist shot through with Native American spirituality in this bittersweet portrait of two Cheyenne men on a journey through the American West and their own identities. Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez) is struggling, in the face of greedy developers, to keep his nation on a Montana Cheyenne Reservation financially solvent and independent. Philbert (Gary Farmer), his easygoing friend, pursues Native wisdom and lore wherever he can find it—even on “Bonanza.” As the two set off on a journey to bail out Buddy’s imprisoned sister, Philbert’s gentle faith challenges Buddy’s hard-edged view of the world, and together they face the realities and dreams of being Cheyenne in the modern-day U.S.
Synopsis
The road-movie genre gets a lyrical twist shot through with Native American spirituality in this bittersweet portrait of two Cheyenne men on a journey through the American West and their own identities. Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez) is struggling, in the face of greedy developers, to keep his nation on a Montana Cheyenne Reservation financially solvent and independent. Philbert (Gary Farmer), his easygoing friend, pursues Native wisdom and lore wherever he can find it—even on “Bonanza.” As the two set off on a journey to bail out Buddy’s imprisoned sister, Philbert’s gentle faith challenges Buddy’s hard-edged view of the world, and together they face the realities and dreams of being Cheyenne in the modern-day U.S.
Credits
Crew
DirectorJonathan Wacks
WriterJean Stawarz, Janet Heaney
CinematographerToyomichi Kurita
ComposerBarry Goldberg
EditorJim Stewart
ProducerJan Wieringa