Paying homage to classic Westerns such as John Ford’s The Searchers, writer-director Scott Cooper’s Hostiles tries to connect with contemporary themes regarding Native Americans, including reconciliation, inclusion, and equality. Set on the frontier in 1892, the film begins with parallel views of a vicious Comanche raid on isolated homesteaders and an instance of U.S. soldiers torturing an Apache family—setting the scene for this revisionist examination of the American West. Under threat of court martial, embittered Army Capt. Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale) must escort dying Cheyenne Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family from imprisonment at Fort Berringer in New Mexico territory to their tribal lands in Montana. Riding northward through the rugged landscape, Blocker and his small troop of soldiers discover grief-wracked Mrs. Quaid (Rosamond Pike), sole survivor of the Comanche raid, who is determined to dig her children’s graves with her bare hands. Given no choice, Blocker takes the widow along, and when they reach Ford Collins, CO, he’s further burdened by having to transport psychopathic Sgt. Charles Wills (Ben Foster) to a trial. When the party is attacked by Comanche raiders, Yellow Hawk begs to be released so he can fight, observing, "We must unite..." Filmmaker Cooper enlisted the aid of Chief Philip Whiteman, the pre-eminent Northern Cheyenne Chief of Montana, to ensure authenticity. A violent, sorrowful film that is also episodic and somewhat uneven, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “A Journey of the Soul” making-of documentary (66 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven period Western.] (S. Granger)
Hostiles
Lionsgate, 134 min., R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.99, Apr. 24 Vol. 33, Issue 3
Hostiles
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