Christmas
in the Clouds (2001)
It's hard to watch a film with a lot of American Indian
actors involved without thinking of TV's "Northern Exposure."
The television show was so important in presenting a
Native American point of view to mainstream US audiences
that it's impact is still being felt years after new
episodes have left the airwaves. "Christmas in the Clouds,"
like "Smoke Signals" before it, is a production made
by Native Americans for mass audiences.
The film is sweet, well-made and romantic as hell.
It only suffers by comparison to the aforementioned
TV show and the gay film released this year, with an
somewhat similar storyline, called "Big Eden." This
should hinder it from finding an audience however because
it is such a treat and so very accessible for mainstream
audiences.
A slight comedy of errors, the storyline is pretty
damn typical. I think they may have even done this on
"Northern Exposure" once. A writer for a well-known
Travel Guide is visiting a resort owned and operated
by a Native American group. Meanwhile, in a separate
storyline, a pen-pal of one of the older gentlemen of
the group, the father of the guy who runs the resort,
comes to visit and meet the man she has fallen in love
with via his letters. She thinks he is younger. She
falls in love with the son. He, in turn, thinks she
is the writer yet falls in love with her. Meanwhile,
the real writer, played by the irascible M. Emmett Walsh,
makes friends with the older father. Pretty typical
stuff.
But the film is just sweet and romantic and charming
and you can't help but enjoy its playing out. I supposed,
as a white guy, there is a built-in charm to Native
American culture for me. I don't know if it's politically
correct to simply like the film because it has that
quaint Native American feel to it or not, but that's
what works here. That's what there is to like most.
The film is beautiful to behold, filmed in the mountains
in winter. The locales and sets are wonderfully golden
hued and inviting. It looks gorgeous. And it's filmed
well. And the acting is really good too. Mari Ana Tosca
as Tina is really nice. We really like her and want
her to fall in love with the son character. She looks
like a young Rita Coolidge, so the powers-that-be wisely
cast Rita Coolidge to play her mom in a set-up scene.
"Christmas in the Clouds" takes place at the titular
holiday, but that just makes it all the more heartwarming.
There isn't a big focus on Christmas, it just helps
the giving spirit of the film. There are some sideline
stories going on here too, about helping a young girl
who is a bit needy and all that. It's all sweetness
and glow. I defy you not to be charmed by this one.
Note:
This filmed premiered at Sundance in 2001.
This Film Reviewed
from the 2001 Austin Film festival!
|
Report
Card
Script:
B-
Acting: A
Cinematography\Lighting: A
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music: A+
Final
Grade: A-
|
Get
Your "Christmas in the Clouds" Stuff...
And
Help Support Filethirteen!
|
More
of Lodger's reviews indexed alphabetically! Just click
your favorite letter to go there.
a
b c
d e
f g
h i
j k
l m
n o
p q
r s
t u
v w
x y
z
HOME
|
