'Christmas in the Clouds' -- A Movie Review

FLAGSTAFF -- Reviewing movies or music made by Native Americans always poses a dilemma for me.

I want desperately for the final product to be outstanding, completely memorable, leave me wanting more, and it must be devoid of "spiritual hokum" or fake Hollywood Native tradition just for the sake of selling the CD or movie.

This seems like a difficult task to accomplish for most commercial entertainment products that have to do with a native theme, character or topic, made by either natives or non-native filmmakers or musicians.

We all remember how contrived and poorly made Valerie Redhouse's movie about three sisters going into the natural hair and make up products business titled "Naturally Native" was a few years back, or the hotly anticipated "Black Cloud" about the Native boxing scene located in a real gym near Farmington, N.M., which fell equally and disturbingly flat, both artistically and commercially, even music legend Tim McGraw couldn't save this movie with his sophomoric acting.

There always seems to be the requisite alcohol abuse scenes or family in-fighting because the main native characters are poor or unemployed or living in rundown tribal housing which is like the "Projects" in any big metro city for Black people, generalizing natives into some disenfranchised people consumed by despair.

And there is always, always, some scene that has a sweatlodge or powwow, or eagles flying in the sky as a metaphor for our native spirituality overcoming the difficult movie situation or a medicine man grandfather dying in some tragic, brutal way that makes the main character realize that they are on the wrong life path, which at that moment the movie makes its big dramatic turn.

But not this movie.

"Christmas in the Clouds," was an insightful and surprise over-the-holiday vacation comedy. The movie was recently in Flagstaff at the Harkins Theater for just one special night with two showings to benefit a very worthy native student cause, the Nizhoni Academy, which assists promising native academic high schoolers to attend a special 2006 Summer Academy. The entire night's profits benefited the students of this academy.

"Christmas" proved to be a contemporary, very humorous look at ourselves as natives, including our obsession with Bingo, the need for mainstream, off-reservation acceptance on a true business-profit making level, and genuine romance, "Indian style".

Yep, those are contemporary themes alright and they are living right here with us on the reservation.

Who doesn't know someone on the Rez, who isn't chasing love, money or has bingo daubers in every color?

The movie is a true example of native oral tradition, because at the final end of the movie you realize that the grandfather who is the narrator, has just told you how he met his current non-native sweetheart at their local resort that is backed by per capita money. But he takes the long, winding, two-hour movie story telling road to do it.

"Christmas" has mistaken identities and misinterpreted messages set in a beautiful ski lodge in some fictitious Apache mountains somewhere in Hollywood-land, but the bonus is knowing that this lodge is really the Sundance Ski Resort owned by Robert Redford, the actor, located in Utah and it's a real stunner, complete with pristine mountain views, immaculate cabin dŽcor and real gallery quality Native American Indian artwork.

Resort manager Ray Clouds on Fire, played by Timothy Vahle, is one gorgeous Native hubba-hubba hunk, looking to get their tribal resort into a special travel guide book which will guarantee this fictitious Apache tribe more statewide tourist traffic and eventually more money and notoriety as a four star ski lodge.

In comes Tina Little Hawk, played by Mariana Tosca, who is the newest movie version of every native man's Pocahontas mixed with Victoria's Secret tendencies, and she is mistaken for the expected and yet unknown resort critic from the big city.

So Tina is given the royal treatment by the entire native resort staff thinking they have pegged the right person to suck up to.

In the meantime, Tina, who had been secretly corresponding mistakenly with Ray Clouds on Fire's Dad and had originally had come to meet her letter writing paramour in person, Joe Clouds on Fire played beautifully by Sam Vlahos, mistakes Ray the son, for his Dad.

The cast fun begins, when Sheila Tousey of the Wisconsin Menominee tribe, who plays tribal resort PR person, Mary is backed by small wise-cracking snippets provided by Phil the resort maintenance man played by Jonathan Joss.

There are small vignettes of those torrid romance novellas but instead of the non-native version of the romance book covers which usually feature a busty blue eyed blond with a dark haired, steroid arms Anglo hunk, these characters are replaced with Tosca and Vahle in a romantic caricature embrace, dark hair flowing on native brown naked shoulders, romantic cello music playing softly in the background.

The movie is sweet natured, surprisingly funny, and spares us of any spiritual hokum, except for the portion of the movie, where Ray's Dad and the real resort hotel critic played by Emmet Walsh, get into a brand new car accident and end up in some deserted mountain cabin during a harsh freak snow storm.

Though the movie has been billed as a highlighted family feature showcasing Graham Greene, a stellar native actor, as the vegetarian chef at this imaginary resort, he is actually not in the movie much, save for several choice scenes where he trying to convince the resort guests to not eat or order any meat dishes, but to instead try his latest vegetarian creations.

There is also a single cameo appearance by Wes Studi, who appears at the local Christmas eve bingo in a Scottish kilt. But you will have to see the movie, to find out why.

If this movie makes it to a local theater or just to your local video store, go see it or rent it.

It's that good.

And it will certainly provide you with a wholesome family evening of entertainment and knowledge that yes, native theme and native made movies are indeed improving and can show a positive, creative and very humorous view of how our daily reservation lives exist.

That everyday humor is indeed a part of our creative Indian selves.

Written and directed by Kate Montegomery, "Christmas" has earned the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 2001 Austin Film Festival and was named Best Native American Themed Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival that same year.