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Pretty Good

People are voting emotionally.

Captivating movie !

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This great movie which I first saw in the early 90's was recorded in Red Rock, which is 110 km north-east of Thunder Bay, or 1300 km north- west of Toronto. Red Rock is located at the very northern tip of Lake Superior, in Nipigon Bay in Ontario. I found this movie extremely well made with it's story including sweat-lodges spiritual visions, graphic vengeful violence set far away in a country of forests and lakes, between Lake Superior and Nipigon Lake obviously, in other words far enough for someone to skin somebody alive where nobody will hear him scream... Arthur not only embodies Peter Maguire's anger but the spirit of the natives of that part of the world and their frustration at white people logging enterprises that destroy the forest and encroach on their land. This movie is not for the faint of heart. When Arthur disappears under water at the end of the movie you know he didn't die drowning because you see his medallion at the neck of the cute little Indian girl Paulie afterward... A definite must-see for those who are nature lovers like me.

Like most Canadians, I tend to shy away from viewing Canadian-made movies, especially if they deal with First People's issues. ("Oh no! Not another one of those".) But CLEARCUT came highly recommended by a friend who is really into intensely horrific stories.It starts off looking like something we've all seen before with a band of Native North Americans squaring off against the "cruel white logging company". It then takes a neat turn about twenty minutes in when our main protagonist sits in on a sauna session-ritual with some Native elders in a teepee. It is his bloody fever dream within the dark steamy enclosure that begins to set the tone for the rest of the film. And what a film! Righteous "psycho" Native, Arthur (effectively played by Graham Greene) kidnaps our main hero who is a lawyer representing the protesters along with the nasty head of the logging company. Arthur then forces the two on a grueling journey through the forests with the sole aim of vengefully torturing them into seeing things from the native perspective. Relentlessly paced, full of twists and turns and its share of bloody gore, the film pulls no punches.It is smartly adapted by screenwriter Rob Forsyth, nicely shot by Francois Protat and well acted by Ron Lea with moody music by Shane Harvey. Although purely a dramatic work, it plays out like an old Indian legend and a sick stalker flick. Let me finally state that you don't have to be into Native issues to like this film. It works on many levels and is simply a really excellent entertaining movie!

The ten-star folks before me have it right: this is a must-see movie. It goes to the psychological heart of the political paralysis of Western societies today, and to their willingness to pay no attention to whom they screw over, only to wake up surprised that it has all gone wrong. Peter the Toronto cause lawyer is a great image of the white progressive who supports Native causes without actually siding with them, and the film beautifully illustrates what happens when he loses his power to exist in this in-between position. "Deb" is right that the core statement is "you dreamed anger, and your anger is real." If you are angry about how, in Peter's immortal words, "the world has turned to sh-t," will letting your anger emerge then allow you to act, or encourage you to let the usual others act for you? What are you doing, if your anger is real? I will stop before I give anything away, and will end with a plea to the distributor to release this important film in DVD, and drop the VHS price below CA$55.00.

At the start of this film, it seems to be expressing anger about encroaching on native lands and environmental destruction. Soon it is evident it is about the outrage itself - and at what stave that it becomes unacceptable as it ventures into violence. This film is even more relevant now than when it was released, given the violence in the WTO protests.You are never sure if Arthur is human, a god, or some vengeful spirit. The way he enters and exits the film keeps this a mystery.Although it has its faults, a very provocative film.