In recent years, when people would ask me, “Hey Sebastien, what’s your favorite film?” either I wouldn’t have a concrete answer or I would hesitate between a plethora of Marvel Studios – or Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – films. However, beyond the contemporary Avengers and superhero-genre films – which, mind you, I find thoroughly captivating and innately rewatchable – lies another, old-fashioned type of movie: the epic.
Thus, I have decided that I actually possess two favorite films: The Right Stuff (1983) – reviewed in an earlier blog post – and Dances with Wolves (1990).
Clocking in at a massive runtime of 236 minutes (three hours and 56 minutes), Dances with Wolves is not the traditional, walk-in-the-park style of movie. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1990, this film is a classic because of its outstanding acting, as well as its excellent directing – for which Kevin Costner also won the 1990 Best Director Oscar – and breathtaking cinematography.
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Boasting a superb 82 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film proves to be a life-affirming tale of the beauty of life and the human spirit. The only reason it did not receive the full 10o percent is likely because it is often implicit in its portrayal of Native American struggle. Costner was dealing with a different market back in 1990, and the acceptance with which his film was received was not a foregone conclusion. Personally, I believe that the main critical issue with the film is not an issue at all. Costner deals with his topic in an entertaining, cinematically subtle narrative style.
Lieutenant John T. Dunbar (played by Costner) is an inherently flawed character, and his imperfections render him the perfect subject of a rise to renewal and existential worth. His love interest, Stands With a Fist, a white woman raised among the Lakota Sioux, stays true to her name, as Mary McDonnell delivers what I deem one of the premiere female performances of all time. With her hallmark wind-blown hair, McDonnell allows her character to retain her armor – a sort of unbreakable façade – that goes hand-in-hand with Dunbar’s solitary, albeit free and open-minded, character as a self-exiled civil war veteran. Additional noteworthy supporting performances that are quite noteworthy include Graham Greene as native elder Kicking Bird and Rodney A. Grant as the youthful Wind In His Hair.
There is something timeless about Dances with Wolves. I can’t exactly explain it here, but the deep solemnity and personal darkness that the film’s characters endure and subsequently transform into powerful conviction. The tangible angles from which the film was shot – i.e., on location in the Western Plains – only solidifies the film’s prevalence as not only an American classic, but an American work of art. Complete with a gorgeous soundtrack by the iconic John Barry and his orchestra, the film satisfies the heart in ways viewers could not have imagined.
If I could criticize it further, I would. In this case, however, I simply can’t; a masterpiece – with an accompanying $425 million box office tally!
Image Credit:
https://www.amazon.com/Dances-Wolves-Kevin-Costner/dp/B004AOECXI
https://www.pastposters.com/details.php?prodId=8342
