War Pony
A hardscrabble coming of age film about young men on the reservation.
Won an award at Cannes in 2022 for best first feature film
92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
trailer for War Pony
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fortworthreport.org /2024/01/05/war-pony-review-life-on-the-reservation-is-hard-for-youth-trying-to-break-the-vicious-cycle-of-indigence-in-the-gripping-drama-directed-by-riley-keough-and-gina-gammell/
‘War Pony’ Review: Life on the reservation is hard for youth trying to break the vicious cycle of indigence in the gripping drama directed by Riley Keough and Gina Gammell
Joe Friar 6-7 minutes 1/5/2024
Best friends Riley Keough and Gina Gammell spent several years preparing for their directorial feature debut “War Pony” which took home the Caméra d’Or award at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival. Ripe with authenticity, the coming-of-age drama, which is two stories wrapped in one, examines the lives of 20-ish Bill (Jojo Bapteise Whiting) and preadolescent Matho (LaDainian Crazy Thunder), two Oglala Lakota boys hustling the rural roads of the Pine Ridge Rez, their fates destined to collide. Tense, heartbreaking, and offbeat.
It doesn’t take long to realize that “War Pony” written by Keough, Gammell, Franklin Sioux Bob, and Bill Reddy, is the anti-“Killers of the Flower Moon” — no one is getting rich in this indigenous tale where 80% of the impoverished residents are unemployed.
12-year-old Matho and his juvenile friends are always on the prowl, looking for a way to make a quick buck so they can reward themselves with a rich bounty of junk food, sodas, and candy from the local convenience store. Their latest scheme (a very bad one) involves stealing meth from Matho’s abusive drug-dealing father (cowriter Franklin Sioux Bob) who keeps the stash hidden among his collection of action figures. “Hey, don’t f—k with that. My dad will f—k you up man” comments Matho when one of his buddies inspects the figurines. Can you imagine what his father is going to do when he discovers his drugs are missing?
XXXTentacion’s “Look At Me!” plays in the background as we are introduced to Bill, baseball cap, no shirt, heart tattoo on his face. The young father of two smokes a spliff as his friends lie passed out in the back seat of a Chevy Caprice while they cruise the streets of the Rez. The beat-up 4-door sedan, a relic, is twice as old as Bill whose gentle face matches his kind demeanor — not what you’d expect.
Bill’s baby mamma #1 Carly (Anjeliq Aurora) is in jail after being arrested on an outstanding traffic warrant. Bail is set at $400, and Bill is fine with letting her “thug it out” in lockup, he needs the cash to buy an enormous poodle named Beast as part of a get-rich scheme to breed the dog and sell the puppies for big bucks. However, there are a couple of hurdles to cross; The dog is going to cost him a rack ($1,000) and then he must find another dog to breed with Beast.
Echo (Jesse Schmockel) is Bill’s second baby momma. She doesn’t have a temper like Carly, but she could also care less about her baby daddy’s well-being. “What do you want?” is usually followed by “I gotta go” when running into Bill. When he swings by her home to show off Beast, she comments “Only you would buy some white lady-type dog, I swear.”
The indigenous cast of unknowns is made up of locals from the Rez, bringing unparalleled authenticity to the film, strengthened by cowriters Sioux Bob and Reddy who grew up in Pine Ridge. While working as extras, the two met Keough on the set of Andrea Arnold’s 2016’s “American Honey” in which she co-starred with Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf. They became friends and together with Gammell, the script for “War Pony” evolved, based on the lives of Sioux Bob and Reddy.
Every action in life comes with consequences. On the reservation, those could be dire. Throughout the film, Matho is dealt one shocking blow after another including homelessness and pushing drugs on the street, all before his thirteenth birthday.
Bill’s trajectory is less severe as he bucks the area’s unemployment numbers by finding a job working for turkey farmer Tim (Sprague Hollander). His white wealthy employer appreciates fine wine and young indigenous reservation girls which means Bill becomes tasked with driving the women around to keep them under the radar of Tim’s bubbly-but-not-so-stupid wife Allison (Ashley Shelton). The longer this continues, the deeper down the sex trafficking rabbit hole Bill descends. Like I said, consequences.
Animals play a significant role in Native American traditions. They become spiritual symbols of individuals and families. Throughout “War Pony” there are several scenes (not including Beast the Poodle) filled with symbolism. Could a spider be Bill’s totem animal? What about the buffalo that keeps popping up in unusual places or the eagle spotted during a funeral?
By the time Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” kicks in during the third act, the characters in the film will have been put through the wringer, leaving the audience mesmerized after witnessing heartbreak and rage balanced by moments of tenderness and comedy. Life’s emotions are profound and hit harder in the Rez. “War Pony” is an unforgettable slice of Americana that most of us would never have experienced if it wasn’t for Riley Keough and Gina Gammell who deliver a veracious account of indigenous life by tapping into the soul of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
(4 stars)
Its a little on the grim side, but shows us a side of life most Americans dont spend two seconds thinking about.
WAR PONY STREAMING: WHERE TO WATCH ONLINE?
Currently you are able to watch "War Pony" streaming on fuboTV, Paramount+ with Showtime, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Showtime, Showtime Apple TV Channel. It is also possible to buy "War Pony" on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu as download or rent it on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu online.
Life on the rez can be brutal, harsh, and without mercy, but not all rez's are like Pine Ridge. They still deal with the legacy of war/murder/theft/boarding schools. Pine Ridge has the distintion of being part of two events in US history that changed everything for Indians and Pine Ridge was the most affected. ''The Massacre at Wounded Knee 1890'' and the ''Siege at Wounded Knee 1973''. The Siege lasted 71 days and it changed the way the US government dealt with us to our benefit. It's effects are felt today, both good and bad. Over 300 arrests over NAs and only a few convictions since most of the charges we bogus. The three years after the Siege are known as the ''Reign of Terror'' with 71 Sioux from Pine Ridge murdered and none of the killings were solved by he FBI.
Much of what is written about Pine Ridge is what I call ''Rez Porn'' White people trying to understand the poverty/drug/alcoholism and unemployment, and putting their spin on it, it does not work, hopefully from what I've read here it's indigenous actors/directors telling our story, who better?
It's been over 20 years since I've been to Pine Ridge, and it hasn't changed to the better, sadly
In The Spirit of Crazy Horse, Hoka Hey
Free Leonard.
The band, Red Bone all NA band of the 70s did the song Wounded Knee in the 1970s that was banned from some radio stations. Red Bone is an Indian person of mixed ancestry as were some of the members of the band.
I have watched the movie and it is good. I dont see much political about it though, it just shows us these young men who have a sense of hopelessness and it some cases it causes them to be self-destructive.
Filmed in a semi-documentary style.
Yes, the legecy follows them, hopelessness does turn to self destructive behavior and in the suicide.
Near the end of the movie there are a couple scenes that portray the racism that the white people in the area show toward Native Americans. It's kind of subtle but the point is well taken
You have no idea of the racism in North and South Dakota towards Indians it's off the charts.
there are only a few white characters in this movie, but the racism is portrayed, although in a less direct way. The main character, Bill, goes to work for a white turkey rancher, who exploits him and then dismisses him.
your next comment along this same line is getting deleted
Then you've never read some of my articles or experiences, but I don't think that your comment add any value to the article.
This looks really interesting and I have added it to must see films. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
I think you'll like it. Its not a feel good movie but more about the challenges their social environment creates for these people.
I just watched the trailer on IMDb. I doubt that I'll get to see the movie here.