Film Review from University of the Fraser Valley Student Union Society
The University of the Fraser Valley Student Union Society presented the movie Two Indians Talking in partnership with Aboriginal Services, March 21, for students at Chilliwack Campus Centre. In summary, the movie shows two distinct points of view—education versus culture—much like the fable of the country mouse and the city mouse. One of the viewers mentioned, “You can tell the writer has a good education. It would have been a lot more effective if someone from the ‘reservation point of view’ [had] edited [the movie] for a stronger contrast in opinion.”
In Two Indians Talking, Adam (Justin Rain) leaves for university because he wants a way out of the reservation. Adam studies English with plans to become a writer. Adam’s cousin, Nathan (Nathaniel Arcand), grew up on the reservation. Nathan is a high school drop-out who wants to become a rock star. Nathan, 10 years older than his cousin, tries to give him some guidance on reservation life. A viewer commented, “I felt the movie was from an educated person’s point of view and not someone who has actually lived and experienced reservation life.”
The movie’s climax occurs when their small reservation community plans to block off a highway to protest land claims. Adam returns to the reservation to write a book about the roadblock, much to Nathan’s disgust. The dramatic comedy touches on the issues of treaties and First Nations communities from two points of view. “Each person had valid arguments. The movie really made me think of about the struggles people go through every day,” a viewer remarked. “As a person who has lived on a reservation most of my life and experienced a roadblock, I feel this movie represented a common clash of education and culture that I saw growing up on reservation,” stated another viewer.
Although the dialogue did not represent the cultural side adequately, some of the comedy in Two Indians Talking is an accurate demonstration of how humour is used in First Nations culture to help deal with serious situations. “As a British man who has never heard anything about First Nations issues, I found this very educational and enlightening. It is well put together and covers a wide spectrum of thought-provoking points. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” one student said.
I enjoyed seeing the subject of land claims brought up for people to watch. I would recommend this movie for those interested in learning about land claims and treaties in Canada.
Written by Eric Anderson (Aboriginal Representative of UFV SUS) and
Desmond Devnich (Rep-at-Large UFV SUS).