Underplayed Gems

Clearcut (1991)

Clearcut poster
Directed by
Ryszard Bugajski
Genre
drama film
Country
Canada
Runtime
1h 32m
Rated
R
Rating
6.9 of 10 from 34 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A white lawyer in Canada meets an Indigenous activist who kidnaps the head of a logging company clearcutting on native land. The film explores the clash between pacifism and direct action, forcing the viewer to question easy divisions of good and evil.

tenseangrythought-provokingunsettlingmoral ambiguitybleakslow-burnconfrontational

What happens

Clearcut is a 1991 Canadian horror-thriller film directed by Ryszard Bugajski and starring Graham Greene, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Ron Lea, and Michael Hogan. It follows a white lawyer in an unnamed Canadian province who finds his values shaken when he meets an angry Indigenous activist who insists on kidnapping the head of a logging company clearcutting on native land. Filmed in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and based on the novel A Dream Like Mine (1987) written by M. T. Kelly, it covers complex subject matter such as the land rights of indigenous peoples in Canada, pacifism, colonialism, and environmentalism. Greene, known for his prolific work, including the critically acclaimed Dances with Wolves, is quoted as saying this is his favorite movie in which he has acted. Through making Clearcut, Bugajski stated that he set out to portray the issues that he saw existing with pacifism. By forcing the viewer to consider the arguments of the characters alongside their actions he hoped to show the viewer the complexity of these issues where good and evil is not so easily divided. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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