(I guess in the loosest sense there is a spoiler, but it is by the loosest definition only, as a plot summary is given in the next sentence or two.)
Note: I also state that there is a twist. However, this twist isn't a spoiler in terms of how the movie ends, but rather in how the movie is told.
The viewer can watch the movie one way; that being from the eyes of the grownups.
A second way to view the film is to watch the story unfold through the eyes of the child. Doing so has different meaning and effect.
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"The Jingle Dress" film is a simple story told in a straight forward way with the twist that it's essentially about a little girl growing up.
As directed by William Eigan and produced by Mr. Eigan and Meighan McGuire, "The Jingle Dress" is a contemporary look at Native American family life, indigenous culture, and tradition.
It's slow, it's meditative, it's about murder and growing up, yet it works and should be viewed.
Steve Reevis and Chaske Spencer lead weight to the story as Johnny Red Elk and Uncle Buff as they search for what happened to "Uncle Norton".
Stacey Thunder is the loving wife who follows her husband, Mr. Red Elk, off the "rez." and takes care of the kids.
She is sort of the bridge between the 2 linear stories.
One is being told via the death/murder search by the adults and the other is told through the eyes of their daughter Rose, as played by S'Nya Sanchez-Hohenstein.
Rose is growing up and getting her Jingle Dress soon while at the same time wishing she was a real Indian.
So in essence she is the children's story part of "the Jingle Dress".
Note: a jingle dress is essentially a native American customary dress for a naming ceremony. It basically literally is a growing up dress.
This part of the story is anchored, and also bridged, by a funny yet educational grandpa figure (uncle Matty), as played by Charles Brin, and the interaction of Rose with her loving yet serious faced DieselPitbull Walsh, both of whom help Rose grow up and learn about her culture while the adults are off on the business of living (and dying).
Through the story you see that anything is possible yet it still takes a lot to get used to this place.
You can view it through the eyes of an adult and "rez" life or the more simple view of a girl growing up and "rez" and land and nature.
Afterall, once Rose grows up and gets her Jingle Dress she is both an adult and an "Indian".
In the end things come full circle.
The film was made through a Minnesota Production grant of 2014. While 4 production companies received a grant, only Patrick Coyle (The Public Domain) and William Eigan finished the feature films and filmed entirely in Minnesota.
Production wise the cinematography, editing, and lighting serve the story. Although there are funny moments in deleted segments the cuts serve the story. A story that is essentially of a little girl who can see far, loves stories, and learns what is like to be a real Indian as she grows up and into her Jingle Dress.
(Official selection of #mspiff2014) (a DVD release is scheduled around July 2015)
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