Fidel Moreno Movies
Noted documentary filmmaker Errol Morris made his dramatic feature debut with this story about murder and other dirty dealings on an American Indian reservation. Recent college graduate Jim Chee (Lou Diamond Phillips) has just taken a job with the Navajo Reservation Police in Arizona, where he helps keep the peace with his superior Joe Leaphorn (Fred Ward) on land earmarked for joint use by Navajo and Hopi tribes. Cowboy Dashee (Gary Farmer), a sheriff from the Hopi law enforcement group, discovers a decaying and unidentified body in the desert, an event he thinks may be linked to a recent robbery at the reservation's trading post. The shop's Hopi manager, Jake West (John Karlen), is convinced that Joe Musket, a Navajo drug dealer and ne'er-do-well, is responsible, and as Chee and Leaphorn investigate the murder, the robbery, and a mysterious plane crash, they find themselves drawn into a web of corruption, prejudice, and deceit. Dark Wind was based on a novel by noted crime author Tony Hillerman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Fred Ward, (more)
- 1992
Four times each December beginning in 1986 and continuing to 1990, as many as 300 Native American riders at a time traveled by horseback 250 miles along pathways through South Dakota which are sanctified by the blood of those who died at the place Natives call "Greasy Grass," and most others know as Wounded Knee. These memorial rides, with one participant for each of those massacred in December of 1890, were often undertaken in great hardship and were intended as a sacrifice which would clear the way for a recovery of Lakota ways, traditions, and sacred lands. In this documentary, in addition to footage of the ride and its riders, young Lakota express their hopes for the future, while older tribe members recall the painful and difficult times they all survived in order to reach this point. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
The sons of a Chicago fireman who gave his life in the performance of his duties, firefighting brothers Kurt Russell and William Baldwin carry their lifelong sibling rivalry into their work. Russell is convinced that Baldwin hasn't got what it takes to remain in the fire department. Baldwin is transferred to a "safe" assignment, assisting arson investigator Robert DeNiro, who is trying to make sense of a series of fires involving an oxygen-induced ball of fire called a backdraft. The investigation reveals a link between corrupt alderman J. T. Walsh and imprisoned pyromaniac Donald Sutherland. The trail of evidence leads Baldwin to suspect that his brother Russell, a much-decorated hero, may be the "inside" man setting up the arsons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, (more)
