By: Lily Grant
Not another Western. That might be your first reaction to hearing about Buffalo Daze: The Times and Life of Jim Grinder. But then you watch it and realize that it’s not just another Western. Far from it. In fact, it’s unlike any Western you will have seen, which explains the buzz around a movie that’s awaiting a release date.
If John Ford and William Shakespeare had defied time and made a movie together, it would have probably looked like this: majestic vistas meet rich characters, masterfully written to create a rare theatrical intimacy presented in several connected acts.
Buffalo Daze follows the titular character, Jim Grinder, a half-white/half-Indigenous cowboy, through a treacherous period of North American history in what rapidly became the cultural melting pot of the West. Reflective of that, the movie includes several languages in addition to English: Spanish, Salish, Romani, Nez Perce, Blackfeet, and Dene.
There’s no shoot ‘em ups. No women were sexually abused. No need for a hero on a white horse to save the day. It’s an extraordinary true story free from sensational liberties or overt wokeness. Buffalo Daze is a postcard of who we are from how we got here, and it arrives at a time when America is once again wrestling with her identity.
In the early 1970s, Little Big Man and Soldier Blue questioned America’s conscience as the Vietnam War dragged on. Intentionally or not, Buffalo Daze poses questions to our generation.
While today, billionaire newspaper owners cower beneath the shadow of potential authoritarianism and surrender decades of political expression for future obedience, Buffalo Daze, an independent movie made on a budget that wouldn’t cover one of their lunch bills, unflinchingly demonstrates how a way of life and democratic system of government can be shredded virtually overnight. This occurred on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana with the imposition of abhorrent federal policies enacted at the behest of a president in 1905.
In one striking scene, while sadistically savoring his authority over Tribal leaders, the Flathead Reservation’s loathsome Indian Agent, William Smead (magnificently played Mark Anderako), revels in telling an immigrant woman who challenges his moral indecency that the Declaration of Independence “refers to men” and that, “The Constitution does not guarantee women the same rights and protections as men,” while glorying that people of color “are mere fractions of the whole.” The dialogue is faithful to the historical record. It has a disquieting resonance in the present day.
With a stellar cast drawn from classics of the genre, from Tombstone to A Broken Trail, to Yellowstone and its spin-offs, Buffalo Daze benefits from some extraordinary performances, most notably from “Yellowstone Universe” alumni Mo Brings Plenty, Crystle Lightning and Eric Nelsen.
“The screenplay is masterfully crafted. Its power lays in its ability to weave the threads of humanity, nature, and art into a single, compelling narrative which gives life to the dichotomy of beauty and brutality that defined the era,” begins Nelsen.
Brilliantly written by director Raen LeVell, the script is delivered by Nelson as the West’s most compelling artist, Charlie Russell. Screen alchemy is on full display when Nelson’s Charlie Russell captivates throughout, setting each stage as Grinder’s destination unfolds.
“A story this important deserves its time,” he says.
Studio executives keep greenlighting superhero movies while fretting about what the public wants. The public wants the truth, which is in short supply. The success of Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War suggests that audiences crave historical accuracy. Buffalo Daze offers exactly that. It’s artistically courageous and prescient to our times. It’s what a movie is meant to be.
Published by: Holy Minoza
