Description: Without warning, 16-year-old Native American Jesse Threebears is uprooted from his latest foster home and returned to the reservation of his birth. Gradually Jesse begins to adjust to his new life with his grandfather (Graham Green, Dances with Wolves), as well as to find romance. But one boy, who knows the awful secret surrounding Jesse’s mother’s death, is determined to destroy Jesse’s newfound happiness. For the two adversaries, an annual horse race culminates in a life-and-death struggle that could finish them both.
For Jesse Threebears, repatriatation only means uprooting Jesse (Herbie Barnes) has been bouncing from foster home to foster home and he thinks he's finally found a place. The mom obviously wants to keep him, but the social workers say he's got to move back to the reservation for repatriotation.
He knew his grandfather, who is his only living kin, had spent time in jail, but he hadn't been prepared for the living conditions on the rez. Joe(Gordon ((Tootoosis) lives in an old boxcar with no electricity and when he talks about taking a ride, he means on a horse.
But, when Paul LeBlanc (Adam Beach) tells him he doesn't belong there, leaving is the last thing on his mind. This is especially so since Camilla ((Michelle St. John) has caught his eye. The rivalry for Camilla only intensifies when both boys enter the Yellow Quill race.
The story in this film is very similar to that of "Smoke Signals". Both are well done and likable for different reasons, though I think this film is more appropriate for younger audiences. Both are very well done.
Rebecca Kyle, July 2008
If you liked "Smoke Signals............" This a very good movie with much of the same stars as Smoke Signals. The story line is also very similar...... A young Anishinabe man comes to grips with his grandfather after learning it was he who caused a fire that killed his mother and the father of another young anishinabe man. The other young man is played by Evan Adams. The journey in Smoke Signals is replaced by a horse race storyline, and the two young men are rivals instead of friends. Other wise this is very similar. Not as good as Smoke Signals, but a good movie if you take it on its own merits. A little high priced at 25-26$.
Spiritrider, an uplifting, positive and beautiful story! This rich and well constructed story begins with the camera following Jessie Threebears as he races his bike through city streets. He is a street wise high school boy placed in a foster care home. His social worker visits to tell him that he is to be reconciled with his family and his tribe. Jessie has big dreams of competing in the Tour de France and does not want to leave the only life he knows for the reservation. The tribe greets him warmly but Jessie is angry and resentful. Slowly, he learns new truths. This story addresses many themes--life on the reservation, adolescent alienation from family and community, forgiveness, belonging and self acceptance. It's a great story with a cast of some great Native American actors.
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