Edge of America (2004)

Just perfect...

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Chris Eyre's movies are always interesting because he lets us glimpse into the lives of contemporary American Indians. "Edge of America" is no exception and therefore worth watching.However, unfortunately, the story does not really explore any of the issues it touches on, such as inter-minority racism, lack of adequate housing on the reservation, economic problems, alcoholism and drug abuse, single parenting, teenage pregnancy, lack of perspectives for teenagers and all the related problems, cultural differences and resulting misunderstandings between minorities, and more.It was not clear to me why the new English teacher - Kenny Williams - took the job in the first place. At some point he said he "needed to slow everything down", but I would have liked to learn more about his motivation to live and teach on an Indian reservation.I was glad to see Wes Studi in a different role than that of the bad guy, and I enjoyed his exchanges with Mr. Williams, but I did not see a real connection between Mr. Williams and the girls and could not follow the change in their relationship that supposedly happened somewhere along the line.

A very good sports related drama. Kenny Williams(James McDaniel), a black educator from Texas leaves a past behind and takes a position teaching English at Three Nations High School in a small Native American community in Utah. Williams not only has problems fitting into the close knit society...he faces obstacles accepting coaching the girl's basketball team. He struggles with turning around a losing team and preparing them to hold their own against a rivaling nearby all-white high school.Some interesting sub-plots and a strong cast featuring: Wes Studi, Tim Daly, Irene Bedard, Fraya Aspaas-Montoya, Eddie Spears, Trini King and most impressive Delanna Studi. Some very contrasting scenery filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of my favorite scenes is when the black coach is called a 'white man'. This project had a very successful premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.

This was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I hope to be able to see this movie again and again. It is worth watching more than once. The moral to this story, more people need to see. Thank you to all the people involved in making this movie. I think the choice of actors made this movie about as real as if you were a part of the movie. This is one movie I'll be recommending to everyone. It is not a sports movie but a movie about REAL life. No matter where a person goes in this Edge of America at some point all of us become a minority and we all need to learn we can make this world a better place working together. This is what the movie is teaching us.

This fine film has been shown on Showtime and has finally been released on DVD. The previous documentary on the subject, Rocks With Wings, is not available on video or DVD, to my knowledge. If you enjoyed Eyre's Smoke Signals, you will likely love this one. Great characters, a lovely story, much humor, and some pathos are present with a large dose of Navajo wisdom and custom. A highlight was Coach's realization of the irony of being called "white man", a highly derogatory term, when he was behaving badly. The acting was consistently fine from both the professionals and the young amateurs. The director's deft touch had us constantly on the verge of tears and laughter. Highly recommended.