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Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
5/14
5/14:
There are two sides of Squanto: A Warrior's Tale: historically inaccurate and Disney version.
Going with the former first, I must suspend my disbelief and not to roll my eyes too much. It's impossible to
believe the English didn't see any natives because the Columbian Exchange was well underway for over a century.
How Squanto quickly picked up English and spoke so fluently is another.
Back then, when the conquistadors arrived in a newly discovered land and met with the natives, whatever the tribe was,
for the first time, most of the indigenous population got wiped out not too long afterwards due to not being familiar
with the biological agents. So, it's a surprise that many survived after the initial contact in
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Okay, that's enough for now.
For a Disney film, it's free of objectionable content minus several violent scenes which are mostly concealed.
Therefore, Squanto: A Warrior's Tale can be safely shown to children. However, I don't like how the villains, most
especially Michael Gambon's obsequious Sir George, are portrayed as caricatures.
Three phases are shown: Squanto's home and the initial contact with conquistadors, his time in England with the monks,
and his return to home. The first is bland, being more of "let's get it out of the way as quickly as possible." The
second is the best although the monks should be the focal point of the film. The third is when the whole juggling act
has gotten to be too much.
The scene when Squanto tried to make peace with pilgrims is inadvisable. They should've thought it out more. Hence,
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale can be regarded as a lightweight American Indian film as compared to
Dances With Wolves and
The Last of the Mohicans. Speaking of the latter, Eric Schweig is, of
course, a familiar face, but unfortunately, he is no actor who's overshadowed by his fifteen minutes of fame for being
the last Mohican. Adam Beach is fine but isn't capable of leading a film.
All in all, if I have to pick between Squanto: A Warrior's Tale and any 30's to 50's picture that involves American
Indians, I'm going with the former because it moves well, has nice costumes, and isn't objectionable in any way.