Thunderheart (1992)

A very under-rated film from way-back. This film continues to illustrate the historic, persecution of a part of America's native heritage, and sets a scene of greed and exploitation on an Indian reservation. In the film, influenced by events that took place in the seventies, Val Kilmer (Ray Levoi) convincingly plays the part of an FBI agent, whose part-Sioux background makes him the prime choice to investigate a death on this Indian reservation. Teamed up with an infamous, older agent, played by Sam Shepard, the investigation leads Kilmer to the realisation that the U.S. government has framed an innocent man. This movie was very well done and gave examples of how the Indian culture really is and Graham Green played a very important part in educating us. Greene is one of my favorite Native American Indian actors. He is from the Six Nations Reservation tribe in Canada.The arid location, the Indian actors, and the haunting music of James Horner, easily takes hold of the imagination; transporting one back to the time when a culture viewed the inquisitive, intrepid explorers of old with suspicion. The intriguing Chief Ted Thin Elk, the reservation's religious leader, knows the secret of Levoi's (Kilmer) lost heritage. Wisdom emanates from this old Indian, but as the leader of a defeated people, he looks to Levoi, and sees in him the spirit of the historic 'Thunderheart'. During a touching sequence in the film, the Chief tells Levoi that he is their modern- day 'Thunderheart' and that he must make for the 'Stronghold' the historic Thunderheart was unable to reach. As the film draws to a close, Levoi finds the evidence he needs to expose the plot, despite Shepard's efforts in eliminating the witnesses. Pursued by Shepard and his henchmen, Levoi makes for the ancient, mountainous stronghold. There above him in the mountains, when all seems lost, he finds the support the old chief said would be there. This film is a must for those who can sense the legacy left to us by one of the world's deeply spiritual, nomadic nations.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

This film is more than the crime drama it appears to be on the surface. It's also an indictment of the American Indian reservation system. This really is a fascinating film.And then there's Val Kilmer at his slim, handsome best. And I do mean best. He is superb in this film. Filmed in 1992, this was near the beginning of Kilmer's hot career period, which pretty much ended a decade later when he began looking not at all like the handsome leading man he had been.Sam Shepard is also quite good as a fellow FBI agent, although seriously -- get your teeth fixed. I'm not joking, he would have had a better career if he had had some decent dental work. I've noticed it in other films, as well.Graham Greene is also wonderful here as a tribal police officer. And that is another factor about this film that is refreshing. So many of the cast members are American Indian actors. Most interesting is the very old Ted Thin Elk.Filmed mostly on location, some of the photography of the Badlands is quite stunning. This movie has a real feel to it. And, unfortunately, the movie makes me sad about life on Indian reservations. Recommended. A very strong 7.

"Thunderheart" would not even be an average movie without Graham Greene's wonderful performance. As reservation sheriff, his character correctly interprets a brutal murder using both mysticism and logic. Val Kilmer eventually realizes that his fellow F.B.I. agent is leading him on a road to nowhere, and that Graham Greene is onto the truth behind the killing. At almost two hours, the film seems endless, and only Graham Greene's humorous observations, break the sometimes monotonous and sometimes confusing story. The totally acceptable acting, interesting music, and beautiful locations help. The conclusion actually saves the movie, because up to that point, the whole thing seemed to be losing momentum. - MERK

In 1992, director Michael Apted released two accounts of the American Indian Movement: there was the documentary "Incident at Oglala" about Leonard Peltier, and the feature film "Thunderheart", loosely based on the Leonard Peltier case. This one features the ancestrally Indian Val Kilmer as an ancestrally Indian FBI agent investigating events in Pine Ridge in the 1970s and getting more interested in his own indigenous heritage.If absolutely nothing else, this movie should call to mind the history of Native Americans. They discovered America, but we don't admit it because they didn't colonize the Americas for another country. The Indians have gallantly fought against terrorism since October 12, 1492, while we act as if terrorism only emanates from the Middle East. They're reduced to running casinos to stay alive. For the record, at least some Indians don't like the word "tribe", preferring "nation".All in all, I really recommend this movie. Also starring Sam Shepard, Graham Greene, Fred Ward, John Trudell and presidential candidate Fred Thompson (I would never expect a creep like him to star in a movie like this, but he did, and later starred in "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee").