Fancy Dance is an amazing movie that where Lily Gladstone, playing Jax, steals the show. It is shot beautifully and draws you into her world where you may judge her at first, but soon you see the complex world that she is forced to navigate.
Jax lives on the reservation and takes care of Roki, her niece, since Roki's mom has gone missing. The movie highlights the poverty on the reservation which has forced Jax and Roki against law enforcement for the money to get by while at the same time pleading for law enforcement to do their job in looking for Roki's missing mother.
The local tribal police, while understanding, say their hands are bound and everything is left up to the FBI, which isn't doing their job.
The movie comes to a head when child protective services is brought in to take Roki to her extended family off reservation. While they may be well meaning, they know nothing of the culture they are taking her from.
While Jax is given an opportunity to be her guardian, again law enforcement from the past rears its head and Roki is taken from Jax because of her criminal history. Jax decides to act and take Roki away from the extended family on her way to the large cultural gathering, the pow-wow.
During this trip the extended family has called the FBI and now all levels of law enforcement are looking for them. There's even an encounter with ICE who want their names, but is unaware of the FBI looking for them.
When at a gas station Roki also gets complicated into the law, accidentally shooting the employee with a found gun.
In the end the mother is found by the FBI in a small lake, killed by likely the same people Jax was selling drugs to. At this point the circle of poverty, abuse, and general uncaring is revealed through the family. While there are many levels of law enforcement there seems to be very few people wanting to offer help to break the cycle.
Jax and Roki make it to the powwow, although she is spotted by law enforcement as the screen goes black, with the bittersweet feelings of knowing she made it to her culture, but Jax is likely the next tribal member to go missing in prison, continuing the cycle.
Jax lives on the reservation and takes care of Roki, her niece, since Roki's mom has gone missing. The movie highlights the poverty on the reservation which has forced Jax and Roki against law enforcement for the money to get by while at the same time pleading for law enforcement to do their job in looking for Roki's missing mother.
The local tribal police, while understanding, say their hands are bound and everything is left up to the FBI, which isn't doing their job.
The movie comes to a head when child protective services is brought in to take Roki to her extended family off reservation. While they may be well meaning, they know nothing of the culture they are taking her from.
While Jax is given an opportunity to be her guardian, again law enforcement from the past rears its head and Roki is taken from Jax because of her criminal history. Jax decides to act and take Roki away from the extended family on her way to the large cultural gathering, the pow-wow.
During this trip the extended family has called the FBI and now all levels of law enforcement are looking for them. There's even an encounter with ICE who want their names, but is unaware of the FBI looking for them.
When at a gas station Roki also gets complicated into the law, accidentally shooting the employee with a found gun.
In the end the mother is found by the FBI in a small lake, killed by likely the same people Jax was selling drugs to. At this point the circle of poverty, abuse, and general uncaring is revealed through the family. While there are many levels of law enforcement there seems to be very few people wanting to offer help to break the cycle.
Jax and Roki make it to the powwow, although she is spotted by law enforcement as the screen goes black, with the bittersweet feelings of knowing she made it to her culture, but Jax is likely the next tribal member to go missing in prison, continuing the cycle.