Squanto: A Warrior's Tale

In the Seventeenth Century, a group of British sailors lure the Patuxet tribe in the New World and kidnap an Indian called Squanto (Adam Beach) together with Epenow (Eric Schweig) from Nauset tribe. They are brought to England to become attraction of a circus, but Squanto succeeds to escape in a row boat that sinks. Squanto is found by monks and brought to the monastery where he learns English and white man behavior. Squanto misses his beloved wife Nakooma and when he has a chance, he returns to the New World with Epenow. But he discovers that his world is no longer the same.

"Squanto: A Warrior's Tale" is an entertaining adventure by Disney, with the full of action story of an Indian named Squanto and his adventure in England. The plot is a typical production by Disney and with no relation with historic events and the purpose is to entertain... and "Squanto: A Warrior's Tale" succeeds. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Último Grande Guerreiro" (The Last Great Warrior")

personally, i think this was a great movie. i just finished watching it and loved it. some say that it was inaccurate, but give me one example how it was. Squanto's tribe was killed by disease, he was kidnapped by the English, and he showed the Pilgrims how to plant and farm. sure, he may not have stopped a "war" between the Pilgrims and his friend's tribe (who is played by a favorite actor of mine and a very hot guy) but otherwise the rest of the movie is fairly accurate. sure, i was sad when Squanto had been so hopeful to come back to his bride and when he gets back he finds out she's gone, but sometimes you gotta survive. i'm part Indian and i know all about surviving and just barely getting thru life. death and loss is a fact of life.

This is not a documentary so I can forgive the time-line inaccuracies. But it does tell a story that is based, at least in part, on a real human being, brave, intelligent, life-loving. To have suffered the loss of dignity through kidnap and slavery and then, when finally returned home, the additional heartache of the fate of not only his family but of his entire tribe, he continued to give of himself, no matter the purpose of his generosity. This movie may not teach history correctly (although it at least tries to include the people who most influenced Squanto), but it DOES teach children values... the value of treating people with dignity; the value of freedom; the value of humanity; that slavery is wrong; that war, even if necessary, is a "last resort." For teaching these things alone I recommend this movie.

Not as wholesome or empowering as I think Disney wanted it to be, but there is at least some warmth to the message that it portrays.

It's based on the real life Squanto, though apparently takes a load of liberties with his story. I'd expect nothing less truth be told, the point of a film - in my opinion, at least - is to make a good film - therefore truth, which most of the time is more dull, takes a backseat. I'm not saying it's impossible to mix accuracy and entertainment, but I never expect both myself. Documentaries are for accuracy, after all.

Cast-wise, I can't say any of them properly stand out. Adam Beach (Squanto) and Mandy Patinkin (Daniel) would be my picks, while Michael Gambon (George) is fairly good I guess. Like most other areas of the film, it is quite average.

I didn't find 'Squanto: A Warrior's Tale' slow paced and I do appreciate the message, it's just not crafted together all that well.

As a history buff and a published writer in that subject, I was distressed to see how the film's storyline warped the real history of Squanto, especially in how he was treated by his English hosts, which was mostly cordial by all accounts, during the many years he actually lived on the other side of the Pond (and should have gotten Frequent Sailor Miles for all those trips he made back and forth over the Atlantic.) But it does show he learned the lessons of the Christian virtues taught him by the Franciscan monks and others who befriended him during that time, and more important, he passed them on to his Indian brethren so that they might live in harmony with their new neighbors. Like two other films that were released about this same time, DANCES WITH WOLVES and LAST OF THE MOHICANS, it shows that people of differing cultures can work together to accomplish great things, even in the face of great hostility between the two sides by those not so enlightened. At the screening of this film last night at the Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church, we watched this tale unfold and found it to be a great way of remembering why we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S.A. History teaches us (or it did when most of us in the church's audience went to school)that Squanto played a huge part in ensuring the Pilgrims could grow enough food and hunt and fish well enough to survive the coming winter, a task he did so well that it enabled the Pilgrims and their Indian neighbors to partake in a feast that continues as a tradition in America almost four centuries later. But this film carries a message beyond our traditional rationale for having a uniquely American holiday set apart to give thanks to God for providing bounty and blessings to all Americans in this land.That mostly overlooked message that many of us don't see today but that Squanto recognized is that peace and brotherhood and charity must be practiced if we are to survive and prosper in this world.

In a year (1994) when the Disney Studios released so many entertaining films (IRON WILL, THE LION KING, THE JUNGLE BOOK, THE SANTA CLAUSE, ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD, D2-MIGHTY DUCKS,) this stood out as a real gem of a movie that still entertains and inspires us today. I think Walt Disney would have been proud to have put his name on such a fine production by the motion picture company bearing his name. Thanks be to Walt, thanks be to Squanto and thanks, most of all, to God. Happy Thanksgiving. Dale Roloff