Indian Horse a powerful story of residential schools
Clint Eastwood backs Canadian director’s adaptation of raw residential school tale
When Canadian director Stephen S. Campanelli showed his film Indian Horse to his mentor, Clint Eastwood, the four-time Oscar winner was in disbelief.
The drama is based on late Canadian author Richard Wagamese’s acclaimed novel, about an Ojibwa residential school survivor who faces racism and systemic barriers as he becomes a formidable hockey player.
The story gives an unvarnished look at the brutal history of the residential school system in Canada, and Eastwood was floored.
“He didn’t believe it,” Campanelli, who grew up in Montreal and lives in California, said in an interview at last September’s Toronto International Film Festival.
“He was like, ‘What? You Canadians did this?’ I said, ‘Yeah, believe it or not.’ He said, ‘How come no one knows about this?’ I said, ‘Well, they will soon.’”
Eastwood then signed on as an executive producer.
“He says, ‘People need to see this movie,”’ said Campanelli, who has worked with Eastwood as a camera operator more than 20 years.
Canadians Sladen Peltier and Ajuawak Kapashesit, along with American actor Forrest Goodluck, portray protagonist Saul Indian Horse at three stages of his life.
The story spans 30 years as it follows the harrowing journey of Saul’s family and his experiences in the late 1950s at an Ontario Catholic residential school, where students were abused and forced to abandon their language and culture.
Saul teaches himself to play hockey and moves up in the ranks of the sport, but after a string of racist attacks, he gives up and has to confront his painful past.
“I think a film like this will actually help a lot of people understand, because it doesn’t really pull a lot of punches but it is still very cinematic,” said Kapashesit, who is of Ojibwa and Cree heritage and was born in Moose Factory, Ont.
“I think this film is going to open up the floodgates of truths in terms of the history of this continent,” added Goodluck, a member of the Dine, Mandan, Hidatsa and Tsimshian tribes.
Dennis Foon wrote the script for the film, which was shot in chilly winter temperatures and on rough terrain in Sudbury, Ont., and Peterborough, Ont.
The characters speak the Ojibwa language, which is translated in subtitles.
Other cast members include newcomer Edna Manitowabi, who plays Saul’s grandmother and is a residential school survivor.
“It’s not common you get roles like this that are very truthful and aren’t exploitive in any way,” said Kapashesit, noting his grandfather and other family members went through residential schools.
Campanelli said the goal was to stick to the book’s roots and its Indigenous origins and “not Hollywoodize it.”
At the same time, he wanted to give it “a big-budget look and not make it look like a small little Canadian movie.
“Our biggest goal for this movie is to keep the conversation going,” said Campanelli, “because it’s going to take a while. Reconciliation is not a quick thing. It’s going to take everybody’s effort to make it work.”