STORYLINE: On June 26, 1975, during a period of high tensions on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, two FBI agents were killed in a shootout with a group of Indians. Although several men were charged with killing the agents, only one, Leonard Peltier, was found guilty. This film describes the events surrounding the shootout and suggests that Peltier was unjustly convicted. (IMDb)

    What do the films Monster (2003), Changeling (2006), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) all have in common?  In addition to being incredible motion pictures they are all true crime, murder films. Add to that list, please, the 1992 documentary Incident at Oglala.  

     For those who are more familiar with 90s mainstream cinema, the Val Kilmer thriller Thunderheart (1992), is based on this documentary. The difference between a big budget Hollywood film, like Thunderheart, and a documentary like Incident at Oglala is how the events are portrayed.  In Thunderheart, the viewer watches a dramatization of the events.  In Incident at Oglala the audience are getting a firsthand recollection of what happened, from those who lived it.

    As mentioned in the documentary, weaves together the events through first hand interviews, of those who participated in the incident, living om the Pine Ridge reservation.  Robert Redford provides voiceover narration, to give background, tie the interviews together, and propel the story forward.  

   With an eighty nine minute runtime, Incident at Oglala throughly captures, not only the events that took place, but the tensions throughout.  This includes the frustrations that came with the trail, that cabe out of the incident.  Included in the documentary, are bits of Native American history, such as wounded knee, that led to the rise intentions leading to the events at the Pine Ridge reservation.  

    Incident at Oglala is a well crafted, and looks at an important part of American history. It focuses on issues that were relevance when the events took place in the 70s, when the movie was released in the 90s, and are still relevant in today’s society.  For that it is an important movie, to seek out, and watch. 

   In summary Incident at Oglala is a documentary, recounting a first hand perspective of am unjust event, on the Prine Ridge reservation. The film is just as relevant today as it was when it was released, and is when the event happened.

      Until next time, I will see you at the movies!