The Return of Navajo Boy

Utah's spectacular Monument Valley, which has served as a cinematic canvas for some great dramas of the old West, is the backdrop for this offbeat but true documentary about the modern West. The story begins when a white stranger arrives in the valley bearing a gift: a short, silent '50s film entitled Navajo Boy, which features several members of the Cly family, Navajos who have lived several generations in Monument Valley (and whose likenesses have been featured on countless tourist postcards, as well as documentaries, a John Ford home movie, and even a propaganda film promoting the extraction of uranium in the Cly family's ancestral homelands). Navajo Boy acts as a catalyst on the Cly family: as they see images of the family's late matriarch and a long-lost infant brother who was adopted by white missionaries, a flood of memories is unleashed, and slowly, the Navajos tell their own story, a bittersweet tale of loss and outside exploitation. News of the recovered film eventually leads to the discovery of the missing brother, John Wayne Cly, closing the documentary on a note of hope, celebration, and reconciliation, as a lost Navajo boy returns to his roots and a reunion with brothers and sisters. Sporting stunning landscapes and multicultural food for thought, this well made, often eloquent, documentary--a 2001 Notable Videos for Adults selection--is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)