Evan D. As a project this year we are taking a trip through time to revisit all of the Best Picture winners in history, Wings to Anora. Dances with Wolves is the sixty-third film in that series, to see all the other Best Picture reviews, click here. Turning from the 80s to the 90s, many prominent filmmakers began to use the medium to re-evaluate cultural stereotypes and bring attention to issues once considered taboo on the big screen. With Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner takes the western genre and twists it into something that tries to honor Native Americans. It is not always successful but in doing so, he reframes genre conventions. Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) is a Union soldier on the verge of losing his leg after sustaining significant injuries in combat. He escapes the operating table and returns to the front, staging a daring ride across the battlefield in an attempt to allow confederate bullets to finish him before the Union surgeons do. When his ramshackle suicide attempt fails spectacularly, it opens up a window for his fellow yanks to land a decisive blow and Dunbar leaves the front a hero. With word of his exploits circulating, Dunbar is given his pick of reassignment to any fort in the nation. Having always wanted to see the rapidly developing frontier, the lieutenant chooses to be stationed at the desolate and remote Fort Sedgwick, right in the heart of Sioux territory. In his isolation, Dunbar bonds with a wolf that frequents the fort and eventually allies himself with the local native tribe. Ultimately he is accepted by the Sioux tribe, learning the Lakota language and assisting in the defense of the group against the Pawnee and, eventually, the Americans. Dances with Wolves is another prime example of this era of film where noble intentions meet ham-fisted execution. There is a lot of empathy for Native American people here — at least the Sioux, the Pawnee are positioned as villains — and healthy disdain for the American project of manifest destiny. Still, Costner is very much the focal point and point of view in this telling, often serving as a primary protector, or even savior, of the native people he falls in with. Up to this point in time this film was one of very few mainstream movies to show Native American life in a positive light, but it is also very clearly not from the native perspective. Costner, a first time director, also struggles to reign in what at times becomes an unwieldy story. The sprawling three hour runtime is unevenly paced, with long stretches of very little happening interspersed with intense moments of gratuitous violence or gross-outs. Buried in the heap though are some spectacularly memorable moments as well. One particular standout is a buffalo hunt with transfixing kinetic energy. One of the primary issues Dances with Wolves faces is its titular character. While Costner’s direction is uneven but ambitious, his performance in the lead role is not particularly convincing. He often feels out of place in the American frontier, in a way he doesn’t in later roles. The same cannot be said of the native performers, who bring much more to their roles than seems to be written for them. Graham Greene and Rodney A. Grant particularly shine. Dances with Wolves is undeniably epic, with a lot of care put into its depiction of the American west. Costner’s film holds reverence for the native people it depicts but cannot fully overcome the fact that his perspective overrules theirs throughout. As much as the actors breathe life into the Sioux characters, they still serve the purpose of sparking spiritual growth in the white characters. For all its faults, Dances with Wolves does try to upend the stereotypical western depiction of cowboys and Indians. The film ends up falling into some perspective traps and is often overwhelmed by it sprawling runtime. There is some credit for the intentions, but the final product is far from excellent. 5/10
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