Movie Highs and Lows

Recently, we Netflixed two movies of contrasting worth.


First up was Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. We actually had this movie at the house for several weeks before we finished it, but really enjoyed it when we did.

Wikipedia says: "The plot revolves around three main characters: Charles Eastman né Ohiyesa (Adam Beach), a young, Dartmouth-educated, Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation; Sitting Bull (Schellenberg), the proud Lakota chief who refuses to submit to U.S. government policies designed to strip his people of their identity, their dignity and their sacred land—the gold-laden Black Hills of the Dakotas; and Senator Henry Dawes (Quinn), an architect of government policy on Indian affairs."

The film culminates in the assassination of Sitting Bull and the murder of hundreds of men, women, and children of the Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek (which occurred on this day in 1890). The US government was trying to meet the demands for more land (by engineering a plan to "buy back" some of the Indian reservations for railways and gold mining) and tensions were running high when the massacre occurred.

It's a sympathetic look at some of the American Indians during their horrible treatment by the US government and a very good watch. I'd recommend.



The other movie of note was Love in the Time of Cholera. I say "of note" only because I should note that I would not recommend it. It was absolutely DREADFUL! From what I have read (only after having endured the film), it apparently did not do the book on which it was based any honor.

Wiki says: "Time rated it "D" and described it as 'a serious contender [for] the worst movie ever made from a great novel ... Skip the film; reread the book.' "

The basic plot is this: a young man, Florentino Ariza, falls in love with a girl, Fermina. They exchange letters, vow to marry, then her father finds out and moves her away. She eventually rejects Florentino and marries a doctor. Florentino is heartbroken but still loves Fermina. To "mend" his heart, he sleeps with some 670+ women while waiting for her husband to die. Meanwhile, the audience is subjected to more topless women than a Friday night at Jimmy's. In the end, Fermina's husband dies, she and Florentino are reunited, fall in love, and then the movie culminates with a very disturbing 70+ year olds' sex scene.

I can't believe that we actually sat through the whole thing. It was terrible! I haven't read the book, but I sure don't want to after seeing this movie. Yuck!!