Powwow Highway (1989)
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100% of critics liked it
(9 reviews) -
84% of users liked it
(2,755 ratings)
The road movie gets a smart update with this seriocomic tale of two Cheyenne men traveling from their reservation in Montana to New Mexico. For one of them, Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez), a quick-tempered activist, the journey is a practical one; his sister has been arrested and he is the only family… More The road movie gets a smart update with this seriocomic tale of two Cheyenne men traveling from their reservation in Montana to New Mexico. For one of them, Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez), a quick-tempered activist, the journey is a practical one; his sister has been arrested and he is the only family member who can help her out. Buddy has no transportation, so he's forced to ride with Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer), a phlegmatic hulk of a man who is using his 1964 Buick as a vehicle for a spiritual journey of his own. Philbert's easygoing ways and insistence on frequent stops to meditate prove irritating at first to Buddy, but the men reach an accommodation as the trip wears on. Buddy comes to see that blaming the white man and what he sees as system rigged against Native Americans is distracting him from his true mission: to better understand himself and his place in the world. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jonathan Wacks
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Feb 24, 1989 Wide
Critic Reviews
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James Sanford, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Martinez gives a solid, thoroughly credible performance, but it's Farmer who makes the movie truly special; look at his half-amused/half-offended reaction to a TV commercial featuring a car dealer wearing a feathered headdress and whooping it up.
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Cast
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A Martinez
as Buddy Red Bow
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Gary Farmer
as Philbert Bono
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Amanda Wyss
as Rabbit Layton
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Joanelle Nadine Romero
as Bonnie Red Bow
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Sam Vlahos
as Chief Joseph
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Wayne Waterman
as Wolf Tooth
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Margo Kane
as Imogene
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Geoffrey Rivas
as Sandy Young Blood
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Roscoe Born
as Agent Jack Novall
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Tony Frank
as Captain Roberts
- Rene Handren-Seals
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Marc Miles
as Patrolman
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Marie Antoinette Rogers
as Aunt Harriet
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Wes Studi
as Buff
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Adam Taylor Gordon
as Bull Miller
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Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman
as CB Radio Voice
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Del Zamora
as Fidel de Boro
- Janet Cunningham
- Junie Lowry-Johnson
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Graham Greene (II)
as Vietnam Vet
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John Trudell
as Louie Short Hair
