I got to know Armand, the director of this film, and so this morning we decided to watch each other's films since we're not available to go to the official screenings. I grew up in the area that he shot this film, and it's interesting to know that it was made just before all the shit went down there between the natives and non-natives. It has nothing to do with the film, however I thought it was an interesting side note.
This film, more or less, is about the after effects suffered by the generation of people who were forced to attend the residential schools. Having studied this to some effect with my historical documentaries I'm always amazed how unknown this part of Canada's history is - or how easily we just sweep it under the rug. It can't be ignored however, that for a long time in our history our gov't put a lot of effort into trying to assimilate and essentially erase the native culture. There have been a lot of apologies in recent years, and that's really great, but it can't erase the sins of the past just because the effects are still (and probably will always) be felt.
I think Armand does a good job of representing the way of life for a lot of people that live on a reservation.
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