{{short description|1988 film directed by Jonathan Wacks}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox film | name = Powwow Highway | image = Phdvdcov.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Jonathan Wacks]] | based_on = {{Based on|''Powwow Highway''<br>1979 novel|David Seals}} | producer = Jan Wieringa<br>[[George Harrison]]<br>[[Denis O'Brien]] | writer = [[David Seals]]<br>Janet Heaney<br>Jean Stawarz | starring = {{Plainlist| * [[A Martinez]] * [[Gary Farmer]] * [[Amanda Wyss]] }} | music = [[Barry Goldberg]] | cinematography = [[Toyomichi Kurita]] | editing = Jim Stewart | studio = [[Handmade Films]] | distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] | released = {{Film date|1988|8|||1989|2|24|United States}} | runtime = 87 minutes | country = United States | language = English |gross = $283,747<ref name="mo"/> | budget = $3 million<ref name="los">{{cite news|title=Slings and arrows|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=26 March 1989|page=32}}</ref> }} '''''Powwow Highway''''' is a 1988 American [[independent film|independent]]<ref>[https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/13903 DVD Talk]</ref> [[comedy-drama film]] executive produced by George Harrison [[HandMade Films]] and directed by [[Jonathan Wacks]]. Based on the novel of the same name by [[David Seals]], it stars [[A Martinez]], [[Gary Farmer]], [[Joanelle Romero]] and [[Amanda Wyss]]. [[Wes Studi]] and [[Graham Greene (actor)|Graham Greene]], who were relatively unknown actors at the time, have small supporting roles.
In 2024, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."<ref>{{cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |website=Library of Congress |access-date=17 December 2024}}</ref>
== Plot == Buddy Red Bow, a member of the Northern [[Cheyenne]] tribe of [[Lame Deer, Montana]] and a quick-tempered activist, is battling greedy developers. On the [[Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation]], he tries to persuade the council to vote against a [[strip-mining]] contract.
Philbert Bono is a hulk of a man guided by sacred visions. He wants to find his medicine and gather tokens from the spirits. During a night at the local bar, he gets inspired by watching a car commercial that advertises to potential customers to find their own "pony". He takes this as a sign, and the next day he visits a junkyard and trades some marijuana to the proprietor to find his "war pony". As he looks outside the window of the junkyard office, he has a vision of several horses running in his direction. He eventually settles on a beat-up and paint-worn 1964 [[Buick Wildcat]], which he names "Protector" as the proprietor tosses him the keys. After a couple of unsuccessful starts, Protector eventually springs to life and he drives off. Throughout his journey, various parts of the car fall off.
Elsewhere, Buddy's estranged sister, Bonnie, is arrested in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]] because of drugs planted in the trunk of her car. Buddy is later contacted and is the only family member who can help Bonnie and her children, Jane and Sky Red Bow. This is eventually revealed as a ploy by the greedy developers trying to pass the strip-mining contract. Without Buddy's presence to vote, they'll have a better chance at succeeding.
Buddy does not own a car but needs to get to his sister. He convinces his childhood acquaintance Philbert to take him to his sister, Philbert happily obliges telling Buddy that they are "Cheyenne". In their childhood, Buddy found Philbert awkward and embarrassing, and Philbert was bullied for being fat. Buddy's attitude towards Philbert has not changed much, but wonders if Philbert remembers how mean he had been to him. Buddy's absence attracts concern that he won't arrive in time, but the tribal chief insists that he will always find a way and that he has done more for the community than anyone else.
They set out on their road trip, and Philbert's easygoing ways contrast with Buddy's more reactive personality. Philbert's frequent stops to pray and eat prove irritating to Buddy, as rather than going directly to Santa Fe, Philbert is motivated by his journey to gather "good medicine" to help them get Bonnie out of prison, even going so far as to take a detour. Along the way they meet with friends in other communities, attend a [[Pow Wow]] at [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] where Buddy dances with other veterans, and visit the sacred [[Black Hills|Black Hills in South Dakota]] where Philbert reverently leaves a giant [[The Hershey Company|Hershey's chocolate bar]] as an offering to his ancestors. Eventually, Buddy joins Philbert in praying and singing to the ancestors in a river. Gradually, the men grow to appreciate and respect one another. Meanwhile, Bonnie has her children contact her best friend, Rabbit, to help pay for the $2000 bail. Unfortunately, it cannot be processed until after the holidays.
When they finally reach Santa Fe, they meet up with Bonnie's friend Rabbit and cause a scene at the precinct. As Rabbit and Buddy interact with the cops, Philbert manages to take $4000 in cash from one of the open rooms. The three eventually regroup at a local area to drink, where Rabbit and Buddy form a minor attraction towards one another. Philbert agrees to fetch Bonnie's kids, who were staying at a nearby hotel and takes them without officially checking out. They head directly to the precinct where Bonnie is being held without telling Buddy and Rabbit, who also try to get there.
The tribal chief has also arrived to talk to Bonnie. Philbert received inspiration from a scene out of an old western during one of their stops and put it to use by breaking Bonnie out of jail by using Protector and a rope to yank the jail bars off the building. As the tribal chief was waiting, he noticed through the window what Philbert had been doing and quietly left the precinct in his truck without telling anyone else. A police chase ensues and Buddy temporarily stays behind to slow down their pursuit by throwing the loose window of Philbert's car at one of the cop cars, causing it to crash. He is soon picked up by Philbert as they continue their escape outside the city. However, Protector loses its brakes on a downhill road, forcing everyone to jump from the car except Philbert who seemingly perishes in the wreck. Seeing the car in flames, the police decide to call off the chase, and back up and leave the scene. After mourning Philbert's death, Buddy, Rabbit, Bonnie, and her kids discover that Philbert survived the crash and they embrace him. Philbert returns Buddy's necklace, and the two join the others as they walk down the highway. Fortunately, the chief of their tribe had been following them after the jailbreak and pulls up with his truck to give them a ride home, presumably to get home in time to vote against the strip-mining contract.
== Cast == {{Cast listing|*[[A Martinez]] as Buddy Red Bow * [[Gary Farmer]] as Philbert Bono * [[Amanda Wyss]] as Rabbit Layton * [[Joanelle Romero]] as Bonnie Red Bow * Geoff Rivas as Sandy Youngblood * [[Roscoe Born]] as Agent Jack Novall * Wayne Waterman as Wolf Tooth * [[Margo Kane]] as Imogene * Sam Vlahos as Chief Joseph * [[John Trudell]] as Louie Short Hair * [[Wes Studi]] as Buff * [[Graham Greene (actor)|Graham Greene]] as Vietnam Vet}}
== Production == The film was based on a 1979 novel by David Seals, who claimed descent from the Huron tripe. He sold the rights for $10,000.<ref name="los"/>
Finance came from [[HandMade Films]].<ref name="denis">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|date=2 January 2026|access-date=2 January 2026|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-moguls-denis-obrien/|title=Forgotten British Moguls: Denis O’Brien}}</ref> George Harrison said he agreed to make it because he was interested in the downtrodden and underprivileged, he "spent some time in India with the Indian-Indians" and "enough people [at Handmade] like the script. It had a lot of heart."<ref>{{cite news|title=Harrison's Handmade films doing just fine thank you|newspaper=The Asheville Times|date=20 March 1989|page=9A}}</ref>
The director was South African born Jonathan Wacks who lived in England and studied at UCLA. He said he was attracted to the story because "it said something about the political activist movement of the 1960s and how it went away. The character of Buddy intrigued me because he hadn't gone away he was still fighting for his cause."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=6 November 1988|title=A freakish odyssey by native Americans|page=31}}</ref>
Filming took place in October-November 1987. It was done on location on Native American reservations in [[Wyoming]], [[Montana]], [[South Dakota]], and [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], New Mexico.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Powwow Highway |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/58236 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=AFI{{!}}Catalog |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205083928/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/58236 |url-status=live }}</ref> Native Americans were upset at filming on top of a sacred site, a South Dakota butte, so the unit moved to Wyoming.<ref name="los"/>
== Music == The score is written and orchestrated by Barry Goldberg. Several songs by [[Robbie Robertson]], from his [[Robbie Robertson (album)|1987 solo album]], accompany scenes in the film.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-15 |title='Powwow Highway': Actress Amanda Wyss Discusses Films 30th Anniversary And Continued Relevancy |url=https://gojimmygo.net/2019/02/15/powwow-highway-actress-amanda-wyss-discusses-films-30th-anniversary-and-continued-relevancy/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=go.Jimmy.go |language=en}}</ref>
== Reception and legacy == The film was shown in the opening week of the [[Montreal World Film Festival]] in August 1988. It was very popular and a third screening was added.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|page=7|date=August 31, 1988|title=Movie-Mad Montreal Swarms To Fest; Pros' Reactions Mixed|last=Gold|first=Richard}}</ref> === Critical response === The character of Philbert Bono was described as a scene-stealer by ''The New York Times''<nowiki/>' [[Janet Maslin]], who wrote Philbert is "notable for his tremendous appetite, his unflappably even keel, and his determination to find some kind of spiritual core in contemporary American Indian life."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=1989-03-24 |title=Review/Film; A Cheyenne Mystic Who Transmutes Bitterness |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/24/movies/review-film-a-cheyenne-mystic-who-transmutes-bitterness.html |access-date=2022-12-05 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The chemistry between the two leads was also praised.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=April 28, 1989 |title=Powwow Highway movie review (1989) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/powwow-highway-1989 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=RogerEbert.com |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205083947/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/powwow-highway-1989 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hicks |first=Chris |date=1989-09-30 |title=Film review: Powwow Highway |url=https://www.deseret.com/1989/9/30/20088431/film-review-powwow-highway |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Deseret News |language=en |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205083946/https://www.deseret.com/1989/9/30/20088431/film-review-powwow-highway |url-status=live }}</ref> In a three-star review, [[Roger Ebert]] called Gary Farmer's performance "...one of the most wholly convincing I’ve seen", and added "What ''Powwow Highway'' does best is to create two unforgettable characters and give them some time together."<ref name=":1" />
Seals later said the film was "not a bad movie. The cinematography is good and some of the acting is OK. But they took the magic out of it." <ref name="los"/> Jonathan Wacks said "I think David really wanted to be the consultant on the movie. ([[Hanay Geiogamah]] performed this function.) We felt we wanted an authentic production. And we wanted someone with some distance, not the novelist. We have no animostiy towards David. We hope he cools out."<ref name="los"/>
Gary Farmer later recalled: <blockquote>Working on that film was a wonderful journey. When I got there, not one person on that crew, including the director, had ever been to an Indian reservation! I couldn’t get them to go to the powwow the community was hosting while we were there because they all felt too bad about the living conditions in northern Cheyenne at the time, which was unlike any other reservation in the country, really... It changed my life, that film — artistically but also personally, because of the growth I experienced from engaging in that culture for those two months we were shooting. I met people I’m still dear friends with.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/gary-farmer-reservation-dogs-interview.html|website=Vulture|title= Gary Farmer Has Seen It All ‘As I look back on everything, it seems to me that having a career at all is pretty special in itself.’|first= Matt Zoller|last= Seitz|date=25 January 2024}}</ref></blockquote> === Box office === ''Powwow Highway'' grossed $283,747 at the US and Canadian box office.<ref name= "mo">{{Cite web |title=Powwow Highway |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3144386049/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref>
===Analysis=== The historian Ryan Driskell Tate has noted that the "film presents political conflicts within Indigenous communities to counter popular caricatures of innate 'Indian-ness'." According to Tate:
<blockquote>Buddy and Philbert spend much of the rising action of the film at odds over their worldviews. ''Powwow Highway'', like most road movies, pairs these same-sex characters together to learn from each other and bond in the journey. Buddy thinks his people’s old stories are inadequate to deal with new political problems...Philbert, on the other hand, believes that the old and new are inseparable, and prizes the survivance of his people. He views the road trip as a “vision quest”—a way to claim the Cheyenne status as a warrior—and mounts his automotive pony horse, his Buick “Protector,” on a tour of sacred spots of Indian culture.<ref>Ryan Driskell Tate, "'This Is the Third World': Coal-Fired America in Montana (1990) and Powwow Highway (1989)," ''American Energy Cinema,'' Ed. Robert Lifset, Raechel Lutz, and Sarah Stanford-McIntyre (Morgantown: University of West Virginia Press, 2023).</ref></blockquote>
=== Preservation === In 2024, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="2024NFR">{{cite web|title=25 Films Added to National Film Registry for Preservation|url= https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/25-films-named-to-national-film-registry-for-preservation/s/55d5285d-916f-4105-b7d4-7fc3ba8664e3|date=December 17, 2024|access-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref>
=== Awards === ;Won * [[Sundance Film Festival]] – Filmmakers Trophy – Dramatic (Jonathan Wacks)<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=1989 Sundance Film Festival |url=http://history.sundance.org/events/24 |access-date=December 5, 2022 |website=[[Sundance.org]] |archive-date=March 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317075640/http://history.sundance.org/events/24 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Native American Film Festival – Best Picture (Jan Wieringa, George Harrison & Denis O'Brien)<ref name=":0" /> * Native American Film Festival – Best Director (Jonathan Wacks)<ref name=":0" /> * Native American Film Festival – Best Actor (A Martinez)<ref name=":0" /> ;Nominated * Sundance Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize (Jonathan Wacks)<ref name=":2" /> * [[Independent Spirit Awards]] – Best First Feature (Jan Wieringa, Jonathan Wacks, George Harrison & Denis O'Brien)<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Shuster |first=Fred |date=1990-01-22 |title=Independent films nominated for awards |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/01/22/independent-films-nominated-for-awards/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010054044/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/01/22/independent-films-nominated-for-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Svirksts |first=Maris |date=2022-03-07 |title=Native Representation at Film Independent Spirit Awards RNCI Who Tells The Story Matters |url=https://www.rednationcele.org/native-representation-at-film-independent-spirit-awards-rnci-who-tells-the-story-matters/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=Red Nation Celebration Institute |language=en-US |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205083929/https://www.rednationcele.org/native-representation-at-film-independent-spirit-awards-rnci-who-tells-the-story-matters/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * Independent Spirit Awards – Best Supporting Male (Gary Farmer)<ref name=":3" /> * Independent Spirit Awards – Best Cinematography (Toyomichi Kurita)<ref name=":3" />
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0098112}} * {{TCMDb title|id=443767}} * {{AFI film|58236}} * {{Rotten-tomatoes|powwow_highway_1988}} * {{Mojo title|powwowhighway}}
{{HandMade Films}}
[[Category:1988 films]] [[Category:1988 independent films]] [[Category:1980s road comedy-drama films]] [[Category:American road comedy-drama films]] [[Category:American buddy comedy-drama films]] [[Category:1980s buddy comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Films about Native Americans]] [[Category:Films shot in New Mexico]] [[Category:Films set in New Mexico]] [[Category:Films set in Montana]] [[Category:Films based on American novels]] [[Category:1988 comedy-drama films]] [[Category:1988 directorial debut films]] [[Category:Films scored by Barry Goldberg]] [[Category:Sundance Film Festival award–winning films]] [[Category:1988 English-language films]] [[Category:1988 American films]] [[Category:English-language road comedy-drama films]] [[Category:English-language independent films]] [[Category:English-language buddy comedy-drama films]] [[Category:United States National Film Registry films]] [[Category:American independent films]] [[Category:Warner Bros. films]] [[Category:Cheyenne in popular culture]]