Themes: Class Differences, Great Battles, Faltering Friendships
Main Cast: Evan Adams, Michelle St. John, Gene Tagaban, Swil Kanim, Rebecca Carroll
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 86 minutes
Plot
Shot on digital video and taking its title from his 1992 book of poetry, Sherman Alexie's The Business of Fancydancing is a portrait of the conflicted relationship between two Native American men. Aristotle Joseph (Gene Tagaban) and Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) had long been best friends by the time they left their Spokane reservation to attend college in Seattle. But while Seymour flourished in Seattle as a gay writer, Aristotle endured nothing but bad luck that led to growing resentment, both against white society and his best friend. Although Aristotle returned to the reservation, Seymour remained in Seattle. Now, 15 years later, the sudden death of their mutual childhood friend brings Seymour back to the reservation -- without his white boyfriend -- where he must cope with his status as the de facto mouthpiece for his people and his estranged relationship with both Aristotle, who seems to be growing more violent by the day, and also Agnes (Michelle St. John), his one-time college girlfriend. The Business of Fancydancing was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Review
The Business of Fancydancing is an intriguing and somewhat frustrating viewing experience. Instead of following the rules for mainstream narrative cinema, writer-director Sherman Alexie created a patchwork of naturalistic dramatic scenes, simulated home video footage, performances pieces (including ceremonial Native American dances), and mock interviews with a couple of the main characters. This deliberately jagged approach may have been intended to pay homage to the Native American oral tradition, get the audience thinking about some of the issues that are raised in the film, and reflect the split nature of some of the characters' identities; it also serves to put the filmmaker's personal stamp on the movie and to flesh out its emotional foundation. Unfortunately, Alexie's mosaic approach seems too literary (as opposed to cinematic) at times, the individual parts don't always flow together seamlessly, and the interview segments get rather annoying (due in part to the condescending and confrontational manner of the interviewer). Furthermore, the acting is uneven and the screenplay seems too open-ended. Nonetheless, Alexie offers an interesting perspective on assimilation and personal identity, some of the film's individual scenes are compelling, and the movie isn't too hard to follow despite its unconventional structure. The film does provide viewers with food for thought even if it isn't completely satisfying. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide
Cast
Evan Adams - Seymour Polatkin
Michelle St. John - Agnes Roth
Gene Tagaban - Aristotle Joseph
Swil Kanim - Mouse
Rebecca Carroll - Interviewer
Cynthia Geary - Teresa; Leo Rossi - Mr. Williams; Kevin Phillip - Steven; Elaine Miles - Kim; William Joseph Elk III - Tavern Father
Credit
Daniel Armstrong - Co-producer, Christy Cox - Co-producer, Sherman Alexie - Director, Holly Taylor - Editor, John Benear - Executive Producer, Bradford C. Bond - Executive Producer, Jonathon Saturen - Production Designer, Holly Taylor - Cinematographer, Scott Rosenfelt - Producer, Larry Estes - Producer, Scot Charles - Sound/Sound Designer, Ray Tantzen - Sound/Sound Designer, Sherman Alexie - Screenwriter
The Business of Fancydancing is a 2002 film written and directed by Sherman Alexie.
The film explores the tension between two Spokane men who grew up together on the Spokane Reservation in eastern Washington state: Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) and Aristotle (Gene Tagaban). Seymour's internal conflict between his Indian heritage and his life as an urban gay man with a white boyfriend plays out in multiple cultures and relationships over his college and early adult years. His literary success as a famed American Indian poet, resulting in accolades from non-Indians, contrasts with a lack of approval from those he grew up with back on the reservation. The protagonist struggles with discomfort and alienation in both worlds.
Seymour returns to the reservation for the funeral of his friend Mouse (Swil Kanim), a violinist, and Seymour's internal conflict becomes external as his childhood friends and relatives on the reservation question his motivation for writing Indian-themed poems and selling them to the mainstream public. The film examines several issues that contemporary American Indians face, including cultural assimilation (both on the reservation and in urban areas), difficult stereotypes, and substance abuse.
In the DVD commentary, Alexie refers to Michelle St. John's character, Agnes Roth, a mixed-race (Spokane/Jewish) woman who moves to the reservation to teach in the school, as "the moral center of the film". Agnes is also an ex-lover of Polotkin's, with the two of them still maintaining a deep friendship.
The film's incidental music was composed by Mohican composer Brent Michael Davids. The violin solos were composed and performed by Swil Kanim, and a number of the actors sing. The film also features Alexie's poetry, and the author's mother served as a language consultant.
The film was made in an experimental and largely non-hierarchical manner, with a predominantly female crew; many scenes were improvised, with biographical details from the lives of the actors as well as the writer/director. This is discussed in detail on the DVD commentary and the behind the scenes documentary included in the DVD release, where Alexie comments that he wanted to make a film that not only discussed his politics, but put them into practice in the making of the film.
