{"id":32782,"date":"2023-10-11T10:06:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T14:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=32782"},"modified":"2023-10-11T10:58:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T14:58:30","slug":"albert-bender-film-follows-native-womans-road-trip-into-the-unknown-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2023\/10\/11\/albert-bender-film-follows-native-womans-road-trip-into-the-unknown-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Albert Bender: Film follows Native woman’s road trip into ‘The Unknown Country’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTHE UNKNOWN COUNTRY | Official Trailer | In Select Theaters July 28\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Reeling from a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin\u2019s wedding. She packs up her la…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Official Trailer: The Unknown Country<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
\u2018The Unknown Country\u2019: An Indigenous woman\u2019s road trip into Indian Country and beyond<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, October 11, 2023<\/div>\r\n
By Albert Bender<\/div>\r\n
People's World<\/div>\r\n
peoplesworld.org<\/A><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNASHVILLE, Tennessee — The Belcourt Theater, for the second week in a row, showcases another Indigenous film. This showing on September 14, entitled The Unknown Country<\/em><\/a>, by writer\/director Morissa Maltz<\/a>, was a reflective, humanistic rendering that is a combination of soul-searching and reconnecting.

<\/P>\r\nThe viewer follows the travails of a young Indigenous woman on a thought-provoking road trip that goes through the Indian Country of South Dakota and culminates in a surreal ending in the rugged climes of south Texas. Interspersed in the film are real-life interviews with real people, giving it a documentary flavor.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nThe story begins with Tana, played by Lily Gladstone, who is Blackfeet and Nez Perce (she also stars as the female lead in Martin Scorsese\u2019s upcoming and much acclaimed film, Killers of the Flower Moon<\/em><\/a>). Tana is grieving over the loss of her grandmother. She leaves Minnesota and embarks on a road trip to South Dakota after being invited to her cousin Lainey\u2019s wedding to the love of her life, Devin.\r\n

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A poster for the film “The Unknown Country.” Image courtesy Music Box Films<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThis is her Lakota family whom she hasn\u2019t seen since she was a child. Tana\u2019s relating to her extended family is very poignant and joyful. She revels in playing with Jasmine, the couple\u2019s young daughter, and there is the celebration at a local bar drinking beer with her relatives. This vignette flies in the face of the stereotypes of drunken, fighting Indians. Everybody is just having a good time. That sequence reminded this writer personally of similar gatherings where everyone just felt bonds of camaraderie and closeness over some rounds of alcohol.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nThen, there is the tribal wedding ceremony itself, which is again, a very moving and evoking reflection. Devin breaks into tears while saying his wedding vows.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nThere is also the visit to Lainey\u2019s grandfather, who is Tana\u2019s great uncle, being the brother of Tana\u2019s deceased grandmother. He tells Tana that she looks \u201cjust like\u201d her grandmother and gives her a suitcase full of her grandmother\u2019s belongings. It is a very reflective scenario filled with sentiment.

<\/P>\r\nTana finds a photo of her grandmother taken in Texas years earlier. Hence, Tana\u2019s trip takes her south to Texas, and she winds up at an outdoor bar, where she makes new acquaintances as her journey continues.

<\/P>\r\nAmong the interesting encounters with real-life folks is an engineer who left a successful career to run a lonely motel with his wife. There is also a Texas dance hall owner who bought the hall just so Flo, a 90-year-old woman, would have somewhere to dance every Friday night.

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTHE UNKNOWN COUNTRY panel with director Morrisa Maltz and more | MVFF45\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Writer-director Morrisa Maltz, writer-actor Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, actor Lily Gladstone, writer-editor Vanara Taing discuss THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY: AN EX…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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California Film Institute: THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY – AN EXPLORATORY FILMMAKING PROCESS <\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nWhat comes through in the film\u2014indeed, the common thread winding its way along in the production\u2014is the humanity of it all, the very human stories encompassed in this documentary, and the narrative aspect of the lives of some everyday people.

<\/P>\r\nOther salient mini-episodes striking this writer\u2019s senses included a scene where Tana is made obviously uncomfortable by two palpably drunk white guys who want to get too friendly with her.

<\/P>\r\nAnother sketch that really hit home was when Tana is driving in the right lane going the speed limit and is passed by another vehicle in the left lane obviously speeding. Shortly, Tana sees the blue flashing lights of the highway patrol behind her. The officer gets out of his vehicle and menacingly asks Tana for \u201cdriver\u2019s license, registration, and insurance.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nIn both of these instances, my mind was flooded with images of the dangers faced by Native females traveling alone and of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). What the film does in these instances is to take the viewer to the brink of imagined, potential disaster and then moves on to the next sequence, which is a good thing.

<\/P>\r\nUltimately, the film travels to the surreal with Tana searching for further meaning in her grandmother\u2019s life in the rugged terrain of south Texas. Keep in mind the grandmother\u2019s solitary photo taken in Texas. What does it mean?

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