Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- somber
- mournful
- harrowing
- historical film night
- serious drama viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, solemn historical drama strengthened by its performances and commitment to Indigenous perspectives.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot follows government efforts to remove Sioux people from their land, impose reservation policies, and enforce assimilation.
Washington legislation involving Henry Dawes is intercut with Elaine Goodale, Charles Eastman, and Lakota communities in South Dakota.
The story explicitly depicts education, Westernization, reservation policy, and pressure on Sioux communities to surrender autonomy.
The film centers government pressure, military defeat, land seizure, and the consequences for Lakota people instead of celebrating conquest.
Films like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and why
The Last of the Mohicans
historical drama confronting settler colonialism, Indigenous dispossession, and governmental violence
Dances with Wolves
period western centered on Native American displacement, cultural conflict, and moral reckoning
Killers of the Flower Moon
somber historical drama about state violence, racial injustice, and contested American memory
The New World
expansive revisionist western examining Indigenous survival and the destructive legacy of U.S. expansion
Movie Details
- Director
- Yves Simoneau
- Release Date
- 2007-05-27
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (142)
Cast
- Anna Paquin
- Chevez Ezaneh
- August Schellenberg
- Duane Howard
- Aidan Quinn
- Colm Feore
- Fred Thompson
- Nathan Lee Chasing Horse
- Wayne Charles Baker
- Brian Stollery
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee about?
- A grave revisionist western follows Lakota resistance and reformers confronting the machinery of U.S. expansion after Little Bighorn.
- What is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee as brutal.
- What did critics think of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, solemn historical drama strengthened by its performances and commitment to Indigenous perspectives.
- Which films are like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?
- Films with a similar feel include The Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wolves, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The New World.
- How long is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee runs 125 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?
- In United States, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
