105 Must See Films: Dances With Wolves (1990)

Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonell, Graham Greene

Director: Kevin Costner

Lt John Dunbar is a man of fine sensibilities and a civil war hero, who requests a post on the frontier, which he finds is deserted. Whilst he stays, waiting for more relief to be sent, he starts to commune with nature, befriending a local curious wolf and later the Lakota Sioux who live nearby, where he starts to find who he really is.

It’s an incredible and epic film, masterfully directed by Kevin Costner, with a sweeping score and beautiful imagery, capturing the last days of a dying culture, and juxtaposing it with the rough and ignorant ways of the new encroaching civilisation.

It’s a Must See Because: after years of being depicted as the bad guys and savages, this film gently takes you into the lives and feelings of the Native Americans, and points out that the invading population were often destructive and ignorant (though not always). It’s one of the first anti-westerns. It’s also an exquisite and emotive piece of film making, and I encourage you to watch the full four hour version, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a film that will stay with you for days.

See It If: you ever wondered if there was a better life out there, somewhere, or if you thought there might be more than meets the eye to American history.