The Stolen Valley

I saw The Stolen Valley, starring Briza Covarrubias-Ant_Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Fortnight_tv; Allee Sutton Hethcoat-Remember the Goal, The Dust Storm; Paula Miranda-Dexter_tv, Las Vegas_tv and Micah Fitzgerald-Amityville Uprising, The Call of the Wild_2020. This is a by the numbers movie that is not really that bad but it is predictable. Briza is a Mexican/Navajo mechanic with a sick mother, Paula, who needs some expensive medical treatment or she will soon die. Briza goes to a pawn shop to sell some jewelry where she meets Allee-who dresses like a cowgirl, wearing a cowboy hat and she has a 6 gun strapped to her leg. Allee gets into a shootout in the pawn shop and takes Briza with her in her escape. Allee discovers that her father, Micah, may be able to help her financially so she and Allee decide to find him and ask him for help. The pawn shop owner and his thugs are in hot pursuit of Briza & Allee and the trails converge on a corrupt land thief that also ties several plot threads together. It's rated PG-13 for violence, language, smoking and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 45 minutes. It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright to stream.

I am from Utah, where this film is set, so I was pleased to see local stories told, or at least stories based here. I watched the movie having not seen the trailer or given any plot summaries. I like to let the movie take me where the writer wants me to go, at the pace they set. At 105 minutes, I felt some character development could have been worth pushing 120 minutes. I wanted to be more invested in the main characters and how they can save their tribal lands. I liked the Mexican mob element, but I didn't follow well why the protagonist was involved with him and how deep. I didn't feel much danger from them, as a typical mobster would have wacked her pretty quickly for being disrespectful. It seemed like too much shooting, without a great plan and without great aim. That said, I really appreciated the elements that shook up the archetypical Whitey vs The Natives storyline. The antagonist was pretty over the top greasy, but fell short of being blatantly racist. I wish I had more of his motivations though, who hurt him to make him so greedy and cruel? I truly felt compassion for the grandmother as the advocate for her people. It was refreshing to see her play it so naive and trusting, almost childlike. I feel like that's the spirit we should strive for, not naivety, but humility and meekness. I felt her as a beautiful spirit, but mourned for her ignorance that led to such suffering, much like my own mother and so many beautiful women who have been hurt by heartless men.

It was a thoroughly entertaining modern western! Beautiful landscapes shot in Arizona and Utah! Some unexpected plot twists and not just a fairytale ending! Micah's character, Carl, is well- played. I liked the fact that they used subtitles for Spanish and Diné. It's important to preserve the language and heritage of our First Nations! At the Q and A after the showing, Suite Navajo actors are used but also locals with little or no acting. Maddy's character is fun and entertaining. I would have liked to know more of the backstory of her character and how she got in trouble with Antonio. I recommend it!!

Fun and fast moving with Interesting characters. Two big take-aways: USA governments, industry and corrupt individuals have cheated and lied to Native Americans to take their land--even land we agreed was theirs through treaties and sales. There is no excuse for this!! The solution is not more government bureaucracy, but fast and fair enforcement of the laws that have been violated. Families are forever. Trying to "protect" people from their real parents and siblings almost always makes a delayed disaster. It is always better to tell people about all of their biological family at the appropriate age, giving whatever warnings are necessary. Sometimes, later generations make peace out of the worst situations. Young people should give thorough thought to planning out a good marriage, and then stay with it for life. It is the greatest gift they can give their family, and the world!

I enjoyed the movie and the concept it was trying to shed light on! Being partly Native American (Cherokee, Cheyenne and Modoc), I enjoy movies that educate the Nation on the many injustices that have occurred in our American History regarding the Native Americans and the constant stealing of their land. The acting was good and sucked you in to the story line. You hated the main character, Carl (Micah Fitzgerald) and your heart went out for the Native American daughter, Lupe (Briza Covarrubias) and rebel sister counterpart, Maddy (Allee Sutton Hethcoat)! The under scoring themes of family & the preservation of one's culture were also wonderful! It made you want to take action to help those in this situation!! Thank you for being bold enough to step out on faith and tell this story!! Please do a sequel!!

Honestly I can't begin to understand how anyone would consider this a half decent production. The acting was terrible, story line was disjointed, boring predictable plot, action scenes seemed ridiculous, poor character development, highly unlikely scenario which attempted to make some sort of a social statement, whiny protagonist, morally bankrupt antagonist, bad stunt scenes, poor editing, indecisive characters, and generally a big waste of movie watching time. I must have checked my watch 20 times during the movie before I was pardoned from any further pain and suffering. The only redeeming factor, cinematography was beautiful.

Went into this film with zero expectations, and walked out thoroughly impressed. I looked online and saw that this was the director, Jesse Edwards', first feature film. He's also the writer. Loved the two lead actresses, Lupe and Maddie. Strong women with great chemistry. All the bad guys throughout were particularly wicked, especially the main one, Carl. The gunfights were many and staged very well. You can't help but to root for our heroines to overcome the odds and achieve their goals. There was great action, story and characters. The scenery was beautiful. I'll see this movie again and bring some friends next time.