In 1996 Canadian Governor-General Romeo LeBlanc declared June 21 be National Aboriginal Day. It is a pivotal time to honour and cherish the diversity and unique culture and the amazing strides Native, Inuit and Metis people have accomplished throughout Canadian history. Even through the impossible hurdles that the Native people had to overcome in order to survive in Canada which stands true as we speak, one thing's for sure, they were here first and forever they will stay. The significance of this holiday as a contributor to the progressive stages of redress and reconciliation which means bringing unity between Native and non-Native people and sharing our culture, language and customs to generate a feeling of identification and that our traditional ways are still practiced to this day. In terms of movies there are several that reflect on Native people, but one that really tugs at my heartstrings is the 1994 movie directed by Bruce McDonald "Dance Me Outside".
The focal central plot of "Dance Me Outside" is around two late adolescent boys named Silas Crow (Ryan Black) and his buddy Frank Fencepost (Adam Beach) who realize that they're procrastinating ways must come to a stop if they which to fulfill their dreams to get into mechanic school. One weekend, Silas' sister Illianna (Lisa LaCroix) returns home from Toronto with her new non-Native lawyer husband Robert McVey (Kevin Hicks). At the local dance hall The Blue Quill, she is approached by her ex-boyfriend reformed ex-convict Gooch (Michael Greyeyes) who's been expecting her, but she brushes him off.
Not everything's all right on the Kidabanesee Reserve as local non-Native miscreant Clarence Gaskill (Hugh Dillon) leaves the dance with Little Margaret Wolfchild (Tamara Podemski). By the next morning, Margaret's dead body was found.
The script involving the conflict of marrying-out and the murder was handled with absolute care by McDonald, Don McKellar and John Frizzell based on a series of short stories by the late W.P. Kinsella. With the marriage problem, Illianna can't produce a child because Robert's sperm count is very meagre much to the chagrin of Ma Crow (Rose Marie Trudeau). Due to a pathetic loophole in the criminal system in Canada, Gaskill was given a light prison system. This stirs oil into the fire as political rights activist Hobart Thunder (Vincent Andre Manitowabi) speaks up about the social injustices implemented by the Canadian penal system.
This puts a wedge between Silas as he's caught at midway point as he's faced with the murder of a Native woman and his sister married to a non-Native man. In an act of comedy, we see Silas persuade Gooch to get his sister pregnant, the extreme drama stems from Silas seeking revenge against a fiend who got away too easy.
After several failures, director Bruce McDonald has made a movie that was worth watching that's both insightful and important. It helps that he was accompanied by strict executive-producer Norman Jewison and following Kinsella's story with care, this coming-of-age story is saturated with scintillating substance. This is truly one of Bruce McDonald's best film in his career.
The focal central plot of "Dance Me Outside" is around two late adolescent boys named Silas Crow (Ryan Black) and his buddy Frank Fencepost (Adam Beach) who realize that they're procrastinating ways must come to a stop if they which to fulfill their dreams to get into mechanic school. One weekend, Silas' sister Illianna (Lisa LaCroix) returns home from Toronto with her new non-Native lawyer husband Robert McVey (Kevin Hicks). At the local dance hall The Blue Quill, she is approached by her ex-boyfriend reformed ex-convict Gooch (Michael Greyeyes) who's been expecting her, but she brushes him off.
Not everything's all right on the Kidabanesee Reserve as local non-Native miscreant Clarence Gaskill (Hugh Dillon) leaves the dance with Little Margaret Wolfchild (Tamara Podemski). By the next morning, Margaret's dead body was found.
The script involving the conflict of marrying-out and the murder was handled with absolute care by McDonald, Don McKellar and John Frizzell based on a series of short stories by the late W.P. Kinsella. With the marriage problem, Illianna can't produce a child because Robert's sperm count is very meagre much to the chagrin of Ma Crow (Rose Marie Trudeau). Due to a pathetic loophole in the criminal system in Canada, Gaskill was given a light prison system. This stirs oil into the fire as political rights activist Hobart Thunder (Vincent Andre Manitowabi) speaks up about the social injustices implemented by the Canadian penal system.
This puts a wedge between Silas as he's caught at midway point as he's faced with the murder of a Native woman and his sister married to a non-Native man. In an act of comedy, we see Silas persuade Gooch to get his sister pregnant, the extreme drama stems from Silas seeking revenge against a fiend who got away too easy.
After several failures, director Bruce McDonald has made a movie that was worth watching that's both insightful and important. It helps that he was accompanied by strict executive-producer Norman Jewison and following Kinsella's story with care, this coming-of-age story is saturated with scintillating substance. This is truly one of Bruce McDonald's best film in his career.