Skins Sometimes, after watching a film, I feel as though something significant has happened - that I have witnessed an intimate and personal event. That's how I felt after watching Skins.

60 miles Southeast of our four American presidential faces at Rushmore is one of the poorest communities in our nation, the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota, the home of the Oglala Lakota Sioux. This film is about the ``Skins'', the contemporary Native Americans who live there. But it is really about much, much more than that. It is about the life, culture and spiritualism of a truly separate nation of people who live within our nation and who we really don't know. The power of this film and its story is its ability to give us an intimate introduction to these people, their integrity, their strength, their humor and their tragedy in such an effective way that we leave feeling the respect for them that they feel for themselves.

It was clear from the special feature interviews on the DVD that this film project was as much a crusade to reveal themselves as it was a vehicle for entertainment. Its validity comes from the fact that everyone involved in this film except the producers were Native Indians. And the entire story, except for a single scene at Rushmore was filmed on the Pine Ridge reservation.

The Story line revolves around the lives of two brothers, Rudy Yellow Lodge played by Eric Schweig and Albert ``Mogie'' Yellow Lodge played by Graham Greene. Rudy is a reservation cop and Mogie is an alcoholic Viet Nam veteran. Both brothers deal with enormous difficulties in their lives. What they do to face these problems makes a good story and draws us into their community in an intimate way. And how they act-out in response to their environment gives us insight into the philosophical and spiritual attributes of their heritage.

Schweig has been in several films as an Indian, in his twelve-year career, but this is the first time I have seen him. He did quite well as the primary protagonist. Greene was Oscar-nominated for a support role in Dances With Wolves (1990) and has been in numerous films and TV programs in Indian parts during his twenty-year career. His performance in this film was outstanding. You might have seen him in episodes of the TV series, Northern Exposure (1990), or Lonesome Dove (1994). Both men are Canadian Indians by birth.

The screenplay written by Jennifer D. Lyne is based on the novel Skins by Adrian C. Louis. Chris Eyre directed this film, his third. He also recently directed the TV production Skinwalkers (2002), based on Tony Hillerman's novel by the same name.

This production is not slick or artificial or amateur or complaining. It is also not a documentary. It is well-done, professional, good entertainment and edifying.

Reviewed March 29, 2003