The film Black Cloud (2004) is about a young angry member of the Navajo Nation's chance at the Olympics The main character Black Cloud (Eddie Spears) is a boxer who has problems with controlling his anger. His girlfriend Sammi's (Julia Jones) ex boyfriend Eddie (Rick Schroder causes a great deal of the anger in his life. He taunts Black Cloud about being the first to be intimate with Sammi. This causes Black Cloud to unleash his full wrath upon Eddie and send him to the hospital after beating him. Another issue that brings Black Cloud much anger is the knowledge be gains in the film during his visit to the corrupt realtor Mr. Tipping (Wyane Knight) that he is descended from a white man. He was known as White Wolf and was welcomed into the tribe after helping an injured Indian woman. This brings Black Cloud much anger about not being of pure blood descent. Helping to channel his anger into boxing Bud (Russel Means) coaches him. Later Norm Olsen (Peter Greene) takes interest in him and offers Black Cloud a chance to fight to get into the Olympics. Black Cloud must also deal with sheriff (Tim McGraw) who has very questionable motives. This film was intended to be the future of Indian related films and was greatly supported by Hollywood
This film had many aspects to enjoy. The best part of this film was the casting of Russel Means. Every second his character is on screen the film has so much power added to the sequence. I am a fan of Russel Means as an actor and his work as an activist. I find him to be a man full of great wisdom and that translates strongly into every film project I've seen him in. Another good aspect of this film is the cinematography work in some of the outdoor shots. The character of the grandfather was also an interesting feature in this film. The actor who played him (Saginaw Grant) had a strong presence in this film as another source of wisdom for Black Cloud to turn to.
While those elements were certainly good, this film had plenty of faults that hurt it, making it a good film rather then a great film. Firstly the final sequence with the grandfather was lacking as right after he died (which starts as surprising and sad) lacks the emotion it should have. Black Cloud seems to show no emotion after his death and simply buries him with little emotion at all. A man with as many emotional issues as he has should at least show something after the death of a loved one. Another problem was the sequence where the Sheriff pulls over Black Cloud after he leaves his reservation. In a previous scene the Sheriff had expressed a strong desire to arrest Black Cloud for beating up his nephew. In this scene however not only does the Sheriff let him go without any reason to, he also realizes he is driving drunk! The characterization of the Sheriff made no sense here or for the rest of the film. Another fault is a romantic comedy vibe that is given off from a lot of the love scenes involving Black Cloud and his girlfriend.
Changes I would have made to this film would have been mostly in the soundtrack. Firstly a random rap song plays right before a boxing scene that didn't fit with the rest of the film's score and really took me out of the film for that brief moment. Another change would be to give the film a stronger score overall. I am a huge fan of epic film scores so this may just be my personal preference. Another scene that needed toned down was a few moments in the boxing scenes where the camera focuses on Black Cloud for what felt like five minutes with him growling very awkwardly at his opponent. I personally find slow motion moments in any sporting event film to be overly-dramatic and this took away so much of the intensity of the scene. Another aspect I would change is that fact that Black Cloud's friend who was stabbed in the neck disappeared from the narrative. I really cared to know what his fate was. Even a quick shot of him at the end of the film would have been satisfactory Finally a change that I would have made would have been the scene where Black Cloud is punched into what appears as an afterlife. He meets his mother there and then leaves. I would have established more of the idea that Black Cloud is choosing to continue living. Suggesting that he was in fact close to death at that moment. Over all Black Cloud was a good enjoyable film but not great.
This film had many aspects to enjoy. The best part of this film was the casting of Russel Means. Every second his character is on screen the film has so much power added to the sequence. I am a fan of Russel Means as an actor and his work as an activist. I find him to be a man full of great wisdom and that translates strongly into every film project I've seen him in. Another good aspect of this film is the cinematography work in some of the outdoor shots. The character of the grandfather was also an interesting feature in this film. The actor who played him (Saginaw Grant) had a strong presence in this film as another source of wisdom for Black Cloud to turn to.
While those elements were certainly good, this film had plenty of faults that hurt it, making it a good film rather then a great film. Firstly the final sequence with the grandfather was lacking as right after he died (which starts as surprising and sad) lacks the emotion it should have. Black Cloud seems to show no emotion after his death and simply buries him with little emotion at all. A man with as many emotional issues as he has should at least show something after the death of a loved one. Another problem was the sequence where the Sheriff pulls over Black Cloud after he leaves his reservation. In a previous scene the Sheriff had expressed a strong desire to arrest Black Cloud for beating up his nephew. In this scene however not only does the Sheriff let him go without any reason to, he also realizes he is driving drunk! The characterization of the Sheriff made no sense here or for the rest of the film. Another fault is a romantic comedy vibe that is given off from a lot of the love scenes involving Black Cloud and his girlfriend.
Changes I would have made to this film would have been mostly in the soundtrack. Firstly a random rap song plays right before a boxing scene that didn't fit with the rest of the film's score and really took me out of the film for that brief moment. Another change would be to give the film a stronger score overall. I am a huge fan of epic film scores so this may just be my personal preference. Another scene that needed toned down was a few moments in the boxing scenes where the camera focuses on Black Cloud for what felt like five minutes with him growling very awkwardly at his opponent. I personally find slow motion moments in any sporting event film to be overly-dramatic and this took away so much of the intensity of the scene. Another aspect I would change is that fact that Black Cloud's friend who was stabbed in the neck disappeared from the narrative. I really cared to know what his fate was. Even a quick shot of him at the end of the film would have been satisfactory Finally a change that I would have made would have been the scene where Black Cloud is punched into what appears as an afterlife. He meets his mother there and then leaves. I would have established more of the idea that Black Cloud is choosing to continue living. Suggesting that he was in fact close to death at that moment. Over all Black Cloud was a good enjoyable film but not great.