Yellow Rock (2011)

Black Feather, great-grandson of Angry Wolf and the last of his tribe, narrates at the beginning and the end as we see a group of Native Americans on horses. His message is simple. The white man has a disease that the Native Americans are immune to, and other things are more important than money; once all of those other things are gone, what good is money?Tom Hammen goes to the church where his eight-year-old son was buried and lights a candle. Dietrich asks where to find Tom, and is told to go to the church. Dietrich says his brother and son are missing and in order to find them, it will be necessary to cross territory belonging to local Native Americans. He needs Tom's help and gives him $20 in gold, with more to come when the job is completed. A bunch of roughnecks will go along with them; their names are Cobb, Farley, Billy and Roscoe.Sarah, a woman with long red hair, is giving medical treatment to the Native Americans. It's not clear at first whether she is actually a doctor but we later learn she is. When Tom and the others arrive, she helps the reluctant members of the tribe to understand Tom. A group of men go off by themselves to discuss the situation. Tom can be trusted, but what about the others? It is agreed that Broken Wing will go along, and the men are informed that sacred burial grounds are not to be entered.Sarah goes along with the group to translate. Broken Wing goes along too and though he warns the group not to go through sacred burial grounds, they do anyway. It is quite creepy with a lot of smoke and weird music. There may be a curse on those who violate this area. Wolves appear but they may have been there to protect the group. However, these appear more likely to attack. The goal is eventually reached, after more obstacles. It's not what you might think. Hint: what is the movie's title and what did I say Black Feather said ? This is a Western so of course there was shootin' and fightin'. Nothing too graphic but there was some blood. The sound went out several times and a character's mouth was covered by a rectangle. There is more emphasis on a strong woman, meaning the doctor, unlike some older Westerns. Sarah is played by Lenore Andriel, who was a writer and producer as well. Native American traditions are respected, even if the bad guys constantly disrespect the "Injuns". Since the actor playing Broken Wing is listed as "Native American consultant", I assume he is doing everything right. It's not an important or classic western, but it is okay.

First of all do not believe anybody that rated this movie as good because they are for sure all related in some kind of way to somebody that was involved in making this piece of crap. There is absolutely nothing good to say about this western. I do like a good western every now and then but this is probably one of the worst I've ever seen. The story is incredibly weak, the dialogs are so lame you wonder how the guy that wrote this makes a living out of what he does. The actors are below average with some practically reading their script I think. The music and sound effects played during some scenes are also very badly chosen. I regret watching this movie so much, that's 90 minutes of my life I won't get back. Avoid at all costs...

"I don't give a damn about those Indians, all I care about is finding my brother and the boy." When Max Dietrich's (Russo) brother and son go missing he sets out to find them. When he gets to the town of Yellow Rock he hires Tom Hanner (Biehn) to guide him to where his brother is. After meeting up with a doctor and getting permission from the tribe's elders they set out on the path to find them. Against the wishes of the Indian guide with them they pass through a sacred burial ground. I'll save you the "western genre is dead" speech, but again this is another movie that isn't terrible but is a B-movie at best. The idea is neat and the cast actually has people that I've heard of but like most westerns lately this one is very slow moving and not really worth watching more then once. Little by little it seems like western movies are starting to get better, but at this pace it will have a full revival in the year 2067. Overall, not as bad as most of the new westerns that have been made and worth watching, but don't expect amazing. I give it a B-.

Westerns are a rare event in this day and age. We are obsessed with the future: cybernetics, machines, space, we end up forgetting about the original final frontier. A frontier that did not require a degree in science to achieve, but simply a spirit of adventure and a will to survive. Yellow Rock may not revolve around the idea of discovery, but rather the effects of discovery. Although practically a cliché at this point, the classic story of the white man abusing the kindness of Native Americans is a formula that works, especially for this movie's favor.Yellow Rock has several aspects supporting it that could only be achieved in a Western film. The atmosphere achieves a sense of tensity, but feels campy and fun at the same time. The two protagonists, an independent woman doctor and a man with a troubled past, are likable and competent. The antagonists are cartoon evil, and although the film attempts to hide the real villains, most people will catch on rather quickly. In truth, the "plot twist" may be the weakest part of the movie simply by how predictable it is. Regardless, Yellow Rock is a solid Western, and if you have an itch for anything new, you should give it a fair shot.