Reel Injun Reviews

At its heart this is a well made, provocative made-for-television documentary, a mix of movie clips and talking head interviews.

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Reel Injun is not a peace pipe but a convincing case for a place at the table.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Though stricter selectivity would not have harmed this documentary, its enthusiastic embrace is instructive and moving.

Full Review

Setting off in his barely road-worthy "rez car," Mr. Diamond films a series of bittersweet, and sometimes bitingly funny, encounters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

A fascinating, well-researched documentary that simultaneously informs and captivates the audience.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.65/10

A powerful, mythbusting documentary which manages to humanize America's unfairly-marginalized indigenous peoples, albeit belatedly.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

The debate over the evolution of the movies' depiction of native peoples is not always on the mark.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Reel Injun will most likely give you a new perspective the next time you watch John Wayne battle Native Americans.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Both the talking-head interviews and montages trace distortions and puncture myths with professional rigor.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Combining a road trip from his native Arctic reservation to Los Angeles with an archival cinematic survey, Diamond's treatment of each is perfunctory to the point of inutility.

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Exhaustively explores Hollywood's perpetuation of mythical misconceptions through footage from the nearly four hundred culturally distorted westerns, contrasted with corrective feature films made by aboriginal directors across North America.

Full Review

There are gaps here and there, but it provides a fascinating introduction to a corner of film history that has gotten too little attention.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

For Diamond, Reel Injun is a highly personal odyssey, undertaken in an attempt to reconcile the realities of his native childhood with the natives he saw portrayed on screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

Entertaining and informative.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

| Original Score: 3/4