When Will returns to Medicine River, he thinks he is simply attending his mother's funeral.
He doesn't count on Harlen Bigbear and his unique brand of community planning. Harlen tries to
sell Will on the idea of returning to Medicine River to open shop as the town's only native photographer.
And somehow or other, that's exactly what happens.
This fish-out-of-water tale features Graham Greene (an
Academy Award nominee for DANCES WITH WOLVES)
as a Native American whose loyalties are divided between
his cosmopolitan lifestyle and the homeland he abandoned
years ago. The death of his mother brings Will (Greene),
an international photojournalist, back to the Blackfoot
community of Medicine River for the first time in 20 years.
After paying his respects, Will is eager to return to his work
and his editor-girlfriend (Janet-Laine Green) in Toronto, but
his stay is prolonged due to the machinations of Harlen
Bigbear (Tom Jackson), an affable con artist who enlists
the reluctant Will in a fund-raising scheme for the
community's Friendship Center. Harlen also promotes a
romance between Will and Louise (Sheila Tousey), a
single mom-to-be. When the fund-raising project is
finished, Will prepares to leave, but finds his heart
inexorably tied to the people and customs of Medicine
River. While there was genuine potential in this story of an
assimilated Native American, the film fails to explore his
cultural ambivalence except in the most obvious and
superficial ways. The film only scratches the surface of
Blackfoot customs and lifestyle, mostly by trotting out two
of the tribe's revered elders. The younger set in Medicine
River are uncomplicated contemporary folk, who all seem
inordinately preoccupied with tricking Will into staying on.
Greene and Tousey give earnest performances and their
love story is mildly engaging, but the emphasis is on
comedy, and the screenplay generally fails to achieve the
laughs it strives for. One notable exception is a humorous
scene in which Will tries to sing a Native American song
for his surrogate daughter (whom he named for a sign on a
hospital wall). Unable to recall the tune, he slips into "The
Name Game" ("South Wing, South Wing, Bo-Bouth Wing,
Banana Fanna," etc.) while hopping down a hospital
corridor. This unself-conscious clowning suits Greene
better than playing the bemused straight man. A 1992
Canadian production released to the home video market
in 1994, MEDICINE RIVER was filmed in Alberta, against
picturesque settings which should have been exploited
more.
Will
Sheila Tousey
Louise
Tom Jackson
Harlen Bigbear
Janet-Laine Green
Will's Girlfriend
Raoul Trujillo
Director: Stuart Margolin