Rain, is a Native American woman living on the Fond-du-Lac reservation in Minnesota. One day, after she swerves to avoid some children in the road and winds up in a car accident, she finds out some of the children she's been seeing running around the community are not living children, but the spirits of dead children. The unquiet dead are the little girls and boys who were murdered at the Indian boarding school that used to kidnap, institutionalize, and abuse children in the community. While at first she is frightened that she is seeing things no one else can see, through traditional Indigenous spirituality, Rain comes to accept her visions. She realizes her entire family, and the entire community, has been affected by this terrible secret. She realizes she is not crazy, but that the spirits of the children are speaking to her so the truth can come to light and that, maybe, the community can finally find healing.
Gloria Eshkibok as Mattie Moonshadow, a clerical worker at the local Indian Affairs office
Production
The film was inspired by events from Lightning's life, and the lives of her family members and community. Her father, who occasionally had violent outbursts, had been silent about his childhood. When Lightning was 18, her father committed suicide. This shocking event launched her on a quest, as she attempted to find out about her father's mysterious childhood. In the course of her research, she found herself visiting the Indian boarding school where her father, along with many First Nations children, had been institutionalized as a boy. She saw the large cemetery behind the school, with the names of so many young students on the headstones. From this disturbing experience, the concept for the film emerged. While the filmmaker is from Canada, the film is set in America, and was shot primarily at the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation in Minnesota. Filming took place in late 2006 on or around the Fond du Lac Reservation and Cloquet, Minnesota.
Release
The official world premiere for Older than America took place at the 2008 SXSW Festival in the narrative feature competition. The film screened at other festivals including the Women with Vision Festival in March 2008, Talking Stick Film Festival in June 2008 and Lake Arrowhead Film Festival in April 2009. The film had a VOD release through IFC Films on March 17, 2010. The film was released in DVD format on October 12, 2010. The film will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Metrodome in the United Kingdom under the title American Evil on March 5, 2012, for which the cover art and starring credit highlights Bradley Cooper's role in the film. The film received mostly negative reviews in the UK after its DVD and Blu-ray Disc release. With most critics calling it cheaply made, and was only released in the UK due to the mass popularity of actor Bradley Cooper and his involvement in the film to boost sales.
Dialogues
“There are two ways to conquer a nation: kill ‘em or take away everything that defines who they are.” Pete Goodfeather “Sounds like a holocaust.” Luke Peterson
