Indian Comics Irregular #175

While writing about "Frozen River" and "The Exiles" last issue, I neglected to
mention the other Native movies that have come out recently. These include
"Four Sheets to the Wind," "Imprint," "Turquoise Rose," "Tkaronto," and "Older
than America." I haven't seen them all, but I have seen one film worth noting:
"Mile Post 398."

Here's how the Heard Museum Film Festival described it:

"Mile Post 398" (2007, 110 min, USA)--In this harrowing yet at times uproarious
tale of how a young Navajo man attempts to free himself from bondage to drugs
and alcohol, award-winning Navajo husband and wife filmmakers Shonie and Andee
De La Rosa take the viewer on an inside tour of Navajo contemporary life with a
universal resonance. From his earliest memories, Cloyd (Beau Benally) has
witnessed the uglier side of life while being surrounded by alcohol abuse and
domestic violence. Each time he attempts to turn over a new leaf his friends
Jimmy and Marty (Navajo comedy duo James and Ernie, themselves recovering
substance abusers) mastermind a plan to sway Cloyd from his ultimate hope of
saving himself and beloved family. A choice must be made, but only Cloyd holds
the power to salvage what is left of his life, or allow it to slip away into
despair. The first full feature film to be produced entirely on the Navajo
Nation and utilize an entire Navajo cast and crew.

Some reviews

To create a film depicting reality is truly a feat, and according to viewers and
critics across North America, "Mile Post 398" is nothing less than perfect.
With recent awards including Best Narrative Feature from the Fargo Film Festival
2007, Best Drama and Best Screenplay from the Tulalip Film Festival 2007 and
Best Supporting Actor (Ernest David Tsosie III) from the American Indian Film
Festival 2007, there is no denying that "Mile Post 398" has broken new ground
and satisfied audiences in every way. (Indian Country Today, 11/28/07)

Honesty IS the word to describe Shonie and Andee De La Rosa's feature completed
last summer on the Navajo Nation; it is authentic and definitely a
kick-in-the-gut. Life on the rez and not all of it is pretty. That fact
unnerves some who say it reinforces negative stereotypes of contemporary
Natives. Shonie says hogwash. Because good or bad, that's reality.
(NativeVue.org, 4/15/07)

My thoughts

The good: "Mile Post 398" presents an eye-opening look at the alcohol culture
that prevails on many reservations. It shows how the sins of the father become
the sins of the child in a difficult-to-break chain.

The actors all do a fine job. The standout is Ernest David Tsosie III as the
supportive friend Ray.

The bad: The first quarter of "Mile Post 398" is tough to figure out. There's
a man dancing with women, a woman waiting in a hallway, a boy playing in a
truck, and a bunch of guys drinking around a bonfire. Eventually you learn that
the man, woman, and boy are a family being shown in flashbacks. The boy grows
up to be Cloyd, one of the drinkers.

The ugly: As drunks, Cloyd, Jimmy, and Marty bray and cackle like madmen. They
sound like people sprayed with Joker venom who are laughing themselves to death.
They're so loud and incoherent that it's often impossible to follow them. A
couple of times the movie provides subtitles even though they're speaking
English, not Navajo.

So "Mile Post 398" isn't a perfect Native film. If the De La Rosas had avoided
the structural problems and the hard-to-understand drunks, it could've been
great. As it is, I'd say it's very good. Rob's rating: 8.0 of 10.

To read all the news and reviews of "Mile Post 398," go to
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/milepost.htm .

Rob Schmidt
Blue Corn Comics