LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISE FRIENDSHIPS : "DANCES WITH WOLVES"

I am pretty sure that a lot of you will have at least heard of this multiple Oscar winner that has kind of entered those “films of legend”. You know, those films that constitute an unwritten list of what any self-respecting movie buff will have watched at least once; admitting not watching them will attract strange looks to say the very least… It is definitely a film of a certain era, 90’s, the frontier one strong hero (Kevin Costner – another icon of the 90’s) his loyal wife (eventually) and of course, the Sioux… Admittedly, film-wise Dancing With Wolves is nothing really special, but the story… That’s another matter altogether…
Lieutenant John Dunbar, a rather unlikely hero from the heart of the American Civil War is posted to the frontier. He arrives at the fort to find, much to his surprise, that there is no one there and around him there is nothing but endless stretches of prairie and the lands of his closest neighbors; the Sioux Indians. Dunbar has never actually met an “injun” in his life before, but he has heard tales and he prepares for a vicious battle. But when he comes face to face with his new neighbors, the result cannot be further than what he expected. Both sides learn from each other, true and deep friendships are formed… And soon, Dunbar will begin to question where his real loyalties lie…
Of course it goes without saying that although the film is incredibly exciting and fascinating to watch, on a level it is hard as well, especially knowing what is going to follow and the unavoidable tragic demise of the Native Americans. As you will all doubtless have caught on, many, many films of the same genre followed this once; themes of friendship and films showing us the peaceful lifestyle of the Native Americans abounded but none of the characters were as real and the narrative of friendship as deep and able to capture the heart as this one – this is why, perhaps, they couldn’t be more than mere copies…
I said that technically speaking the film was nothing special. This is true; it is based on typical Hollywood continuity editing, you know, the kind of editing that just does its job. Like a good butler, you barely notice it’s there, you just notice the results, you notice the work it does… This may not be exactly the most original approach the world has seen but it suits this film perfectly. I mean, when you have a story this good, you want to give it center stage; never mind the technical thrills and frills. With things like the Grand Canyon and the American prairies stretching out as a backdrop, do you need stuff like CGI? When the real story of the Native Americans is so powerful and so worth telling; do you need stuff like complicated stunts and grand drama? No. I defy you to watch it without tears welling up in your eyes… At least once…