This is a very good murder mystery that has enough twists to keep you interested. It's by no means a Tony Hillerman (of which Phillips has played Officer Chee once), but satisfying none the less. Phillips plays an adopted son of wealthy parents and is yearning to trace his roots. He does know that he was born on a reservation and wants to take a personal journey to discover his heritage and, perhaps, find his real mother. What he does find is bigotry, poverty and despair in his native home. And that his mother died under suspicious conditions. The more he digs around, the more he is harrased by the police chief who, like just about everyone in town, seems to have something to hide. He finds allies in two women: one, the chief's daughter gives him an inside to the underbelly of the ones in control; the other, a native woman who helps him find his spirit and gives him a link to his ancestry. Torn between his past and present, Phillips struggles to make the right choice and honor his mother's memory. Originaly titled "Sioux City", this movie got little release in America and went to video very quickly. It can be called a lost gem as it is fairly unknown and well worth the watching. Now for the bad part. The picture is so grainy it looks like you need to adjust the aerial (remember those?). I'm in California, USA and I'm not sure if there is a VHS version available in the UK. It is long since out of print here, but if you can find it, get it. It will be far better looking than this DVD. I had wanted to retire my tape but don't think I'll be able to. I'm sorry to have to criticize so harshly but I think the consumer needs to be aware of what they're buying before they spend their money. It's easy to return a defective disc, but hard to return one that was made from an inferior source. That would fall under esthetics, and that is in the eye of the beholder.
