Page 2 September 9, 2021
Film Review
‘Wild Indian’ is a Gripping Thriller
About Generational Trauma
By Ryan Rojas for cinemacy.com
In his feature debut Wild Indian, Indigenous
filmmaker Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.
commands the big screen with the story of
a troubled Native American man, whose
trauma-filled past leads to him committing
an act of violence that changes multiple
lives forever.
From its start, Wild Indian captures the
suffering of Native people, by presenting a
title card that reads how man’s sickness was
carried west (the connotation of the “western
Wild Indian, courtesy Vertical Entertainment.
world” being an important note here), as
well as the visual of an early Native man
in headdress and tribal wear standing over
another downed by an arrow, showing a
vast history of pain that writer/director Lyle
Mitchell Corbine Jr. connects back to later.
A jump in time brings us to the image
of young Makwa (Phoenix Wilson), whose
largely silent demeanor hiding behind
shaggy hair that often hides the signs of
abuse at his father’s hand. Although Makawa
is comforted daily by his sensitive friend
Ted-O (Julian Gopel), his agitation turns
into a quiet anger, which, on one fateful day,
results in the senseless killing of a classmate,
leaving Makwa and Ted-O with a horrific
secret to keep.
Corbine Jr. makes the confident directorial
decision to then leap forward in time over
thirty years to 2019, where we see Makwa
(Michael Greyeyes)–who now goes by “Michal
Peterson”–has succeeded in making a great
life for himself, with a white-collar career
and partner (Jesse Eisenberg), and wife (Kate
Bosworth). Makwa’s fortune impresses the
audience, but the real surprise is when we
see a grown-up Ted-O (Chaske Spencer),
his previously meek, sensitive friend, now
covered in face tattoos and being released
from prison.
When all things come to a head for Michael,
forcing him to return to his past and
leave his new California coast life, the film
connects back to its original message of
circular patterns of trauma. Wild Indian is a
gripping and emotionally charged film that
proves powerful both for its thrilling elements
as well as its representation of Native culture
on the big screen, in substantial roles that we
deserve and hope to see more of.
Beyond playing as a highly taut thriller, Wild
Indian connects it’s present day pain to the
larger pain-filled past that Native American
people have carried for centuries, making
for both an expansive and intimate watch. •
Ryan Rojas
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Check It Out
Hummingbird Salamander
by Jeff VanderMeer
Book review by Roz Templin, Library
Assistant, El Segundo Public Library
Security Systems Analyst “Jane” receives
an envelope handed to her by a barrista in
her local coffee shop one morning and it
literally upends her entire life. Soon she is
running down an extremely dangerous rabbit
hole that will spawn mysteries dissolving into
more mysteries, intimidation and violence,
crimes of wildlife trafficking and ecoterrorism.
Will she solve the clues that include a taxidermied
hummingbird and a salamander?
Will she become a warrior battling climate
change and worse?
Jane is a sturdy woman, a former wrestler
in high school and a former body builder.
She will soon realize just how much physical
abuse she can take when she decides to
open the envelope and discovers a key to a
storage unit that contains that first clue. That
door literally opens a shadowy underworld
where everything and everyone is suspect and
capable of physical and psychological brutality
against her and to those she holds dear.
Returning to her early interests in criminology
and psychology (and an idea of joining
the police force), Jane becomes a noirish
detective. She’s on the trail of Silvina Vilcapampa,
believed to be an eco-terrorist with
ties to those involved in illicit biotechnology
and drugs, among other rumored activities.
‘How does Silvina know ME?’ puzzles Jane
as she continues her investigation into the
myriad tentacles of the Vilcapampa empire.
Jane becomes obsessed with Silvina’s life,
ignoring her own tenuous connections to
her job, co-workers, even her husband and
daughter.
I chose to listen to the library’s book on
CD and voice actor Lisa Flanagan seems to
inhabit the lead character of Jane: her speech
is tumbling out, faster and faster – then,
at particular times she is slow and careful
when thinking things through. There does
seem to be an intention to give an homage
to the noir thriller when Jane’s voice is a
rushed monotone, reminiscent of a 1940s
film detective. The action is intense and
sometimes difficult to follow while listening,
but I consulted our print copy to double-check
some of the nuance here and there. There is
definitely a rollercoaster quality to this tale!
Jeff VanderMeer previously authored the
bestseller Annihilation, which was made into a
film in 2018 starring Natalie Portman. Called
“the weird Thoreau” by The New Yorker,
VanderMeer frequently speaks about issues
related to climate change and storytelling.
He is passionate about native gardening and
returning balance to our ecosytems. He and his
wife have removed nearly all of the invasive
species on their property and now boast a
resulting abundance of biodiversity: over 90
bird species have been seen in their yard
along with dozens and dozens of bee, wasp,
butterfly, and moth species.
These and other interesting books, films
and music cds are available to check out
with your El Segundo Public Library card.
Online resources including ebooks and
eAudiobooks are available on our website,
www.elsegundopubliclibray.org. •
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
Roz Templin
Entertainment
“A book is a dream you hold in your hands.”
– Neil Gaiman