O Rito da Dança

This is a great story that received a heap of well-deserved awards. Lily Gladstone, Oscar nominee for best lead actress in "Killers of the Flower Moon," puts on yet another fine performance. One of the many miserable white people had this to say: "Another tale about the white man oppressing the downtrodden red man. Your only reward for watching this painful, slow movie is the abrupt and unfinished ending. The movie would have been better and felt just as complete had they had the ending right after the opening credits." They hate to hear the truth-it's due to their shame and white fragility, but these stories need to be and will be told again and again. Needless to say, you should ignore this and all the other negative reviews.

I was really emotionally invested throughout this film, thanks to a very well thought-out, impactful script and a rock-solid, anchoring performance by the fantastic Lilly Gladstone.

Don't go into this film expecting to find a cheery or even hopeful exploration of Native American identity and family connections - this is at times an exceedingly bleak and nasty examination of barely hidden racism, misogyny and harsh reality in modern day middle America.

It's a fantastic story backed up by realistic and interesting characters with a very well done script.

But I do have to state quite a significant negative of the film in my own personal opinion - a very sudden and unexpected ending. I was invested in these characters and their situation. I wanted to see the story resolved... But then it just went off. It really did feel that they just decided to cut out the last five or ten minutes of the film. It was a surprisingly shocking and unsatisfying way to end this particular story. Show the audience the consequences at least in a very minor way but don't leave it completely up to the imagination, that's just not the type of film this was.

It's frustrating to watch a movie that gets most everything right but ends up going off the rails when it really counts. Such is the case with writer-director Erica Tremblay's third feature outing about a Native American woman (Lily Gladstone) from Oklahoma's Seneca-Cayuga Reservation who goes in search of her missing sister (Hauli Gray) at the Grand Nations Powwow in Oklahoma City with her 13-year-old niece (Isabel Deroy-Olson) in tow. But the duo's road trip odyssey soon turns into a statewide crime-ridden misadventure not unlike the narrative in "Thelma & Louise" (1991). Much of this multilayered tale is actually carried off quite skillfully, spotlighting the challenges that indigenous people (especially women) face and presenting a story with a capably executed, tension-filled, edge-of-your-seat quality, prompting viewers to wonder what's coming next. However, as the story wears on, it becomes increasingly implausible, culminating in a climax that's more than a little difficult to believe, its heartfelt sentiments notwithstanding. There are also some intriguing back story elements scattered throughout that, quite frankly, could have been better developed and resolved. That's indeed a shame, considering how these shortcomings undermine the production's many strong points. These weaknesses also take away from the outstanding performances of Gladstone (who turns in even better work here than in her Oscar-nominated role in "Killers of the Flower Moon" (2023)) and Deroy-Olson in her big screen debut, as well as an outstanding cast of supporting players. This AppleTV+ original truly has a lot in its favor, but it's unfortunate that it didn't carry through on its strengths throughout the entire film. A near hit but one that doesn't live up to its promise or potential.

• Watched on October 17th, 2023 at the Imaginative Film Festival in Toronto ON. Canada
• Format: regular theatre
• Rating: 7/10.

Special thanks to the Imaginative Film Festival in Toronto, Canada for inviting me to watch Fancy Dance!

Director Erica Tremblay presents such a unique story that discusses native land, native language, and the native community all through the beautiful relationship between an aunt and her niece.

The film really starts off by slowly setting up the mood, tone, and vibe that it will follow throughout the whole film. It then reaches the middle of it which can be considered the weakest as it loses its balance in terms of hooking the audience to the story and the characters. However, the film gets itself together back again with the amazing final act that sets up the beautiful and emotional ending and the conclusion of the beautiful relationship between the aunt and her niece.

Director Erica Tremblay and cinematographer Carolina Costa truly choose a bunch of different elements that will help portray and deliver the most accurate feelings that each character is going through using visuals, directing techniques, and camera movements.

Two particular shots that grabbed my attention, one being an "inside the frame" shot of Jax (played by Lilly Gladstone) being in a phone call which captured her through a frame of a window. The shot added more nervousness into the scene by making it seem as a very narrow frame and the character is trapped in that small window frame.

Another shot is a tense scene where one character finds out something that is not suppose to be shared with her from another character in which a line is visually shown using a wall's corner where each character is standing on each side separating the two of them in half as if their relationship together is affected. It really reminded me how Bong Joon Ho used lines to separate the characters in Parasite (2019).

Lily Gladstone's acting and portraying of the character Jax is on point. The character has a cold heart with lots of worries, yet is a caring person and is an influencer specifically to her niece. It sets Lily Gladstone on the spotlight specifically on her most recent film Killers of The Flower Moon (2023) by Martin Scorsese.

Isabel Deroy-Olson introduces to the audience an innocent niece who's mother is missing as this is the actress' first feature film. This being her first feature film really tells a lot about her talent as her portraying of the different emotions and the optimistic daughter in hopes of her mother to be found. Those emotions really reached audience members throughout the whole this film.

Fancy Dance ends off with a great closing credits song with beautiful lyrics that reflects on all the lives that we lost in which the lyrics say: "Let's put our minds together and reflect on those who have passed, those who are up the sky, those who are now living peacefully."

I watched this film this morning on Apple TV+. After watching Killers of the Flower Moon, I became interested in Lily Gladstone.

The composition of its characters was a typical child and relative story. A protagonist happens to take over their relatives's child and has to go somewhere.

Although they encounter many challenges on their way somewhere, they work to resolve them and refine their relationship. During the journey, the protagonist has to assume the role of a parent to protect and discipline the child.

Consequently, the journey ends for unpredictable reasons. Unfortunately, we cannot help but see the protagonist's sacrifices from time to time.

It's a beautiful story. When I was 13, my older sister ran away from the orphanage where we lived together after my dad passed away. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I recalled a man who helped me search for her around all my relatives.