Highlighting More Inclusive Perspectives in Filmmaking - A movie review of “Mohawk”

Movie ReviewFilm

24 Nov

“Mohawk”
Directed by Ted Geohegan
Not Rated, 2018
Now Streaming on Shudder.

Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence against Native Americans/Indigenous peoples, Loss of a Child, Violence Toward Women, Racism/Bigoted language and terminology

Before I go any further, I wish to note that this review is from the perspective of a cisgender white woman, so please take that with a grain of salt. I do my best to view things from a lens that is accepting, understanding, and empathetic, but wish to recognize there may be plenty that I do not notice or understand when viewing certain perspectives as a white individual. As my perspective is limited, I do wholeheartedly encourage you to learn more about American History and Colonialism through the perspectives of the First Peoples, instead of the typical white historian lens. You can learn more about the role of Native Americans in the War of 1812 by clicking here, here, and here. You can also purchase a biography on one of its central Native figures here. Thank you, and please read further for my review.

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The story of “Mohawk” follows two individuals from the Mohawk Nation, Oak and Calvin, as they navigate the ins-and-outs of politics by colonizers on their Native land. After Calvin sets off fires and kills members of a nearby colonial settlement, Oak must do what she can to keep their people safe. The Mohawk people, like many indigenous tribes of Native American nations at the time, are caught in the midst of a war that was not of their making but that of colonizers: the War of 1812 between Americans and the British. Oak and Calvin must make difficult choices to protect their land and save their people from the incoming colonizers, even if that means making some personal sacrifices.

“Mohawk” is not traditional horror in the sense that some would expect. Be forewarned that like Geohegon’s previous piece, this is low-budget movie making, so you should not look for blockbuster effects and pyrotechnics here, but please appreciate his deftness in filmmaking techniques. Though it's not as well-executed as this director’s previous offering, “We Are Still Here”, it’s absolutely worth a watch. Instead of sensationalist fare, we receive a fairly slow-burn piece of historical fiction with a slight supernatural twist and exploitation cinema influences. The inclusion of the supernatural tinged religious aspects were a fascinating addition, and tipped the content from straight Historical Fiction into Horror-Dark Fantasy territory. I thoroughly enjoyed the slasher-revenge elements as well, and I really rooted for its indigenous stars, especially the Final Girl/Avenging Woman character in Oak! While I feel it fell slightly short of what it could have been (I suspect that it could have done with a longer run time to fix that issue,) this is a decent start to more inclusion in filmmaking and an overall enjoyable watch. Fair warning that while it does serve some historical purpose, this flick has a fair bit of bloodshed and violence against Native peoples and it may make some viewers really uncomfortable in that regard.

“Mohawk” offered a nice change of pace by showing that the real villains are the colonists, and avoiding the racially tinged nonsense of Natives being often portrayed as the bigoted perspectives of “savage peoples. Minus the British man being portrayed as more sympathetic than he probably deserves, the film does a decent job of explaining that the white folks are the true villain here. ” I enjoyed seeing this perspective, and a more accurate portrayal that many white folks truly were hell bent on their cruelty and "othering" of the Native People of this country, rather than the white-washed portrayal of historical heroes and “white saviors” bringing “civilized perspectives” to America. (American History books have such an awfulyl bigoted and white-washed viewpoint; I urge you to please research independently to learn more and correct this poor perspective.)

Although Hollywood is making strides to include more representation of the First Nations, what little content is available often lacks in accurate and fair portrayals of Natives. Before I decided to stream this on Shudder, I did a little research of my own to ensure that I was not about to view yet another problematic piece of Historical Fiction. I am happy to report that from what I found in my research, it is very clear that the director, Tim Geohegon, put a lot of effort and energy into this project to ensure more accurate storytelling. Geoghegon consulted with writer Grady Hendrix to assist in the screenwriting process regarding the involvement of First Nations people and the fight for their rights and land in this aspect of the War of 1812.

Geohegon also went out of his way to make sure he included Native Mohawk acting talent in the roles, instead of leaning into the Hollywood fallback of “anyone who looks remotely Native gets generic casting in Native roles,” and noted the lack of a pool of talent to pull from (a conversation really worth continuing in media circles, to be honest.) Also noteworthy is that the film’s lead actress, Kaniehtiio Horn, was serving as consultant and advisor to historical accuracy and inclusion of Mohawk language into the script. Horn’s fellow indigenous cast member, Justin Rain, was also given a chance to shine as Calvin Two Rivers, and move forward from the shadow of his casting in that notorious YA-”Horror”-Fiction-Movie-Adaptation-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Both lead acting talents really steal the show and outshine their white counterparts.

“Mohawk” is certainly on my recommended viewing list, and while I understand that this may not be the best movie ever, or the most perfect example of ideal representation, I was pleased to see more positive inclusion of Natives/Indigenous people and their stories. Given the care and thoughtfulness the creative team put into this, though, I’m going to enjoy this inclusive representation where I can. I was happy to learn of the commitment to their best offering of Historical Accuracy as best they could. Hopefully we see more content promoting Native acting talent, and may we correct some of the more egregious previous portrayals of the First Nations people in media. This reviewer certainly hopes we continue to propel forward in Hollywood to even more inclusive representation, and a specific focus on Own Voices content in regards to Native/Indigenous and First Nations stories.

Learn more about Native Stories this November.

Explore recent conflicts of Canadian/ North American Governments & Native People.

Learn more about racism towards the First Nations in North America and Canada.

Review by Ellen Avigliano

Website: www.imaginariumarts.com

Twitter: @imaginariumcs

Instagram: @thejackalopes.warren @imaginariumarts