So far, my summer has been fairly busy: graduation in May, Vacation Bible School at the beginning of June, then youth camp a couple of weeks later. In the middle of all that, I was busy studying for the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE) that I took this past week (and PASSED!), and helping my sister, brother-in-law, and niece move back to Texas! In just a couple of days, I'll officially move out of Mississippi and back home where I'll soon start a new job...more details on that to come. :)
But somehow in all that, I managed to have time to sit down and finally see Dances with Wolves all the way through, with a few stops. I mean after all, Netflix's version is 3 hours long (the extended cut), and be honest: this film is boring at times. Now, I will say that I can tolerate violence. "Yellow Rock" and "Into the West" have their share of Western violence, which is pretty descriptive of the era. And yeah, some of the violence was pretty graphic. The Old West was a dangerous place to live since you had enemies of all kinds. But, I suppose my main issues with the film was that of language and nudity. Was it really necessary to see Costner's backside several times? Is it necessary to have a somewhat graphic sex scene between two [unmarried] people? Is it necessary to include crude and vulgar language?
I'm not sure how this film earned all its awards in 1990. Much of it was overacted, and I can't say I'm a fan of Costner after this movie. I admire him for wanting to bring the story to the screen, and for funding the majority of the film in order to get it made...but all the crap marred what could have been a very beautiful story of the West. It is one of the few films in mainstream Hollywood which does NOT portray the stereotypical Indian (as a savage, though the Pawnees were pretty fierce and they are showed as such). The woman playing Stands with a Fist was surprisingly good at speaking the Lakota language; it sounded very natural and easy for her. However, the kissing scenes between her and Costner were just downright comical (just watch those parts and you'll see what I mean).
So my rating is about a 2 out of 5 stars. This film deserved an R rating, but is only rated PG-13. Use a lot of caution when watching this movie. It's really not worth the time.
