Rez Bomb is a great independent film worthy of widespread attention. Billed as a Romeo and Juliet, it's actually about two youths on a journey not to find but to re-find each other in a world that has lost love and its soul. It's a kind of modern Odyssey that looks at the voyage from both the man and the woman's point of view. This and the sense of a broken world also breaks time in some ways and so the scenes do not follow a strict chronology. Some may initially find this confusing, though they are helped by subtle shifts in colour that cue you into which stage of the story you are watching.
It's not a reservation film or an Indian film, though people with an interest in either won't be disappointed. The original (and significantly inferior) screenplay was in fact set in the tenements of Glasgow, so even at the outset this film, which has been a decade in the making, was interested in the lost and dispossessed. But the theme of genocide and loss which could equally have been explored in the Scots version surfaces subtly yet with greater resonance here with the Lakotah, partly because of the physical isolation of the reservation and partly because race constantly seems to inspire greater crass prejudice than class alone, not to mention the fact that - against all odds - the Lakotah spirit has survived. If that makes it sound as if the film will be preachy, don't worry: it isn't. Nor is it arty despite the complexity of its themes. It has an altogether wider and much more deeply human vision for that. And it is passionate. You can watch it as a good old-fashioned thriller in a larger unseen location and leave it at that if you like. Though once you've seen it you will probably want to see it again and think more deeply.
The performances are consistently excellent from professional and amateur members of the cast alike, making for compelling viewing throughout.
Highly recommended.
This DVD of this film is also worth a mention and outstanding value for money, with same great documentary footage and interviews of the high plains folk, both red and white, and how their life is changing. The director also takes you through the film explaining some of the film's themes and the techniques used, which makes the DVD a valuable tool for those engaged in film studies. In addition there's a great interview with American Indian Movement activist and Republic of Lakotah spokesperson Russell Means, who also appears in the film. For those interested in the Lakotah, the DVD is worth it for this alone.
