• Home
  • About
  • Links
  • Calendar

Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

  • News
  • Film
  • Documentary
  • Shorts
  • Blog
  • Top Picks
    • Movies & Films: The Top 25
    • Documentaries: The Top 25
    • Music Videos: The Top 10
    • Films for Students: Top Ten
  • Netflix

Thunderheart (1992)

Tagged: Government as bigot, Second amendment

A part-Sioux FBI agent turns against his superiors when he discovers a deadly operation by his agency to squelch Native American resistance to government control. [ Thunderheart credits: Dir: Michael Apted/ Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Graham Greene/ 118 min/ Thriller/ Government as Bigot, Second Amendment]

It has been said before that the political and economic system imposed on Native Americans embodies all the worst characteristics of socialism. Property is often held in common, most jobs are in the pay of the U.S. government and are dispensed at the will of a presiding local official, and even the tribal residents who are not so “employed” are on some kind of government aid or other. The effect of all this is to create an atmosphere of dependence and despair and to give a chosen few power over the many.

During the 1970s, the American Indian Movement (AIM) was organized to reform and resist this situation. The result was a sporadic civil war between AIM members on the one hand and reservation powers-that-be (backed by the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs) on the other. AIM was systematically subdued, but this fictional take on these events gives it a happier ending.

In this story, the FBI sends a part-Sioux agent to a Sioux reservation to help investigate a murder. Initially, he sides with the FBI in suspecting that the murder was committed by members of AIM (called ARM in the film). However, he begins to question that presumption when, in the course of his investigation, he observes firsthand the corruption and violent tactics of the government’s reservation operatives. At the same time he gains sympathy for the Sioux themselves and gradually awakens to his own Native American roots, which he has heretofore denied. Events come to a head when he finds out who really committed the murder and ends up on the run from his fellow FBI agents. Ultimately, it’s the Second Amendment, what it was really meant for, that saves the day.

Thunderheart succeeds as both semi-factual exposé and fictional whodunit. The dialogue is witty at times, and Val Kilmer gives an outstanding performance in the leading role. The mystical effects that put him in touch with his Native American heritage require some suspended judgment, but then again maybe that’s all just supposed to be symbolic of his self-enlightenment. Those particularly interested in this subject may also like Incident at Oglala, a documentary on the same subject by the same director.

External Reviews

“Stylishly balancing thrills, mysticism and political outrage, Director Michael Apted has produced his most absorbing movie since Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
–Newsweek

“Thunderheart adds up to an absorbing and provocative thriller.”
–Hartford Courant

How to See It

Netflix
Amazon (DVD)
Amazon (Instant Video)
YouTube Video Search
Google Video Search

Links

IMDB
Wikipedia
Google
More Films About: Government as Bigot
More Films About: Second Amendment

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Trackbacks

  1. Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World – Incident at Oglala (1992) says:
    February 12, 2014 at 3:48 am

    […] his narrative voice to this now cause célèbre of the Left. If you like this film, you’ll love Thunderheart, an enjoyable drama by the same director based on related […]

  • RSS
  • Twitter

Featured Post

voter fraud

Voter Fraud 2020: The Complete List

There is "no voter fraud," so we are told. Here are multiple examples and related links. h/t Instapundit, Ace Of Spades, PJMedia, Project Veritas, Breitbart, Battleswarm, Gateway Pundit Half Of Americans Believe Election Stolen, Even A Third of Democrats US | Whoa: Nearly a Third of Democrats Believe … Continue Reading

Themes

Abuse of power American revolution Anti-draft Anti-regulation Anti-slavery Anti-socialism Anti-taxation Anti-war Ayn Rand Corrupt government Creator as hero Democide Econ 101 Eminent domain Equality & law Escape from socialism Freedom of speech Free press as hero Government as bigot Government as torturer Government enforced morality Government healthcare Government schools Incompetent government Individualism John Stossel Law & liberty Legalize Drugs Libertarian heroes Libertarianism 101 Power corrupts Power worship Pro-capitalism Pro-immigration Propaganda Psychiatric coercion Resistance to tyranny Right to secede Search & seizure Second amendment Sexual liberty Social tolerance Unions & monopolies Voluntarism Working for government

Genres/Categories

Action-Adventure Animated Biography Blog Comedy Documentary Drama Family Featured Film Foreign History Horror Music-Dance Netflix News Romance SciFi-Fantasy Shorts Thriller Western

About Miss Liberty

This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

  • RSS

© 2021 Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World. All Rights Reserved

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.