ntfrenk 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.

ifjed The premise is reasonable. Basketball is big on many reservations, and there are black basketball players (e.g., Kareem Abdul-Jabaar) who have volunteer on reservations. Sure, there are a lot of clichés from other Indian movies. But overall, the acting is good (especially Wes Studi), though the black coach's performance is a bit stiff at times. The most surprisingly thing about the film to me is that it never got any kind of commercial release. But then again, it is about Indians. And who is the Uwhited States of America cares about Indians? Not many people. Fortunately in my town there are several outlets to see non-commercial movies ("Christmas in the Clouds" is another good, Native-American-theme movie that you probably won't see unless you live in a similar town). Anyway, thanks, Mr. Eyre, for a good show. Maybe not your best pic, but still a good one.

KM_391 I saw this movie at Sundance. I am not a basketball fan, nor am I particularly interested in Native American affairs. But I LOVED this movie, and it seemed as if everyone else in the theater did too. It was by far the best film I saw at the festival this year. There are a few flaws you have to overlook - James McDaniels' character is remarkably insensitive to Indian culture, and says some things that no kind intelligent person would, though the character is supposed to be both kind and intelligent. But forget that - McDaniel still makes you believe he's real, and the girls who play the losers-turned-winners on his team are marvelous. For whatever issues of believability you may have, how can you knock a movie that makes people stand up and cheer? And gives us a conclusion that may not be the easy predictable one? The world needs more movies like this. Go see it. You won't be sorry!

Bill Killer premise: Black male teacher is recruited suddenly to teach English at an Indian reservation high school and takes over as coach of the hapless girls basketball team. Chris Eyre is a talented director. (He actually reprises the reservation DJ commentary that was so funny in Smoke Signals.) This is Hoosiers on the Rez. I love Eyre's movies because they are thoughtful, funny and compassionate, and always force us to consider people in a new light. He does an extraordinary job of exposing us to the good and the bad in Indian country, and I walk away from his films both enlightened and uplifted.