Woman Walks Ahead (2017) Online

2017 Jessica Chastain Louisa Krause Boots Southerland Susanna White

Original Title :: Woman Walks Ahead
Genre :: Movie / Biography / Drama / History / Western
Year :: 2017
Directror :: Susanna White
Cast :: Jessica Chastain,Louisa Krause,Boots Southerland
Writer :: Steven Knight
Type :: Movie
Time :: 1h 41min
Rating :: 6.5/10

Catherine Weldon, a portrait painter from 1890s Brooklyn, travels to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull and becomes embroiled in the Lakota peoples' struggle over the rights to their land.

Woman Walks Ahead (2017) Online

Catherine Weldon, a portrait painter from 1890s Brooklyn, travels to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull and becomes embroiled in the Lakota peoples' struggle over the rights to their land.

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Jessica Chastain	-	Catherine Weldon
	Louisa Krause	-	Loretta
	Boots Southerland	-	Cab Driver NY
	Chaske Spencer	-	Chaska
	Ciarán Hinds	-	James McLaughlin (as Ciaran Hinds)
	Kindall Charters	-	Waiter - Sleeping Car
	Sam Rockwell	-	Silas Groves
	Jacob Browne	-	Waiter - Dining Car
	Luce Rains	-	Old Man at Train Station
	Rod Rondeaux	-	Indian Robber
	Rulan Tangen	-	Susan McLaughlin
	Michael Greyeyes	-	Sitting Bull
	Monika Crowfoot	-	Seen By The Nation
	Debbie Black Lance	-	Old Sioux Woman
	David Midthunder	-	Shell King

The movie nods to one of the most controversial events surrounding Sitting Bull's death: his dancing horse. It is reported that Rico came home with him from the Wild West Show and was trained to dance to the sounds of bullets, and did so during the shootout that killed Sitting Bull. It is also said that the sight of Rico's dancing amidst gunfire without any harm coming to him, as if he was commending Sitting Bull to the spirit world, drove more and more native Americans to join the Ghost Dance Movement.

The movie implies Caroline and Sitting Bull had no connection prior to her arrival in Standing Rock, which is inaccurate. They began corresponding around 1888, after Sitting Bull was in Washington, discussing fair prices for Dakota land and maps of the government's plans to reduce the size of the tribes' reservations at length.

Though Sitting Bull's death is not historically accurate in the movie, it is portrayed with the sense of many native Americans, who often state that his death was a betrayal of the US government to a political leader.

It is reported that Sitting Bull made a small fortune on his participation at the Wild West Show, earning about $50 a week (equal to $1,364 in 2018) for the four months he joined the tour. He would also negotiate prices for autographs and pictures with him. Coming from a prominent Lakota family (his father was a wealthy leader), those skills came in naturally for him; he was also a philanthropist of sorts, giving away his earnings for his people. The movie nods to those events, first when Sitting Bull makes a deal with Caroline Weldon for his portrait, and then when he sends her into town to get supplies for his people, with the money she paid him.

Michael Greyeyes plays Sitting Bull, one of the most famous Native American chiefs of the 19th century.

The movie states that Caroline Weldon was a widow, which is inaccurate. She was married to Bernhard Claudius Schlatter, and left her husband for another man, with whom she had a son. She reportedly took her son with her to the Sioux settlement to meet Sitting Bull and live among the native Americans. She eventually got a divorce in 1883.

The movie is based on Eileen Pollack's "Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull", a book released on 2002.

Catherine Weldon's portrait of Sitting Bull now hangs in the State Historical Society Museum in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Inaccurately depicts the death of Sitting Bull.

Sitting Bull says he saw Col. Silas Groves at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain (1864). It's confusing because he mentions snow, like Wounded Knee (1890), and it happened in July. But Col. Groves would probably have also been at Wounded Knee two weeks later after Sitting Bull was killed.

User reviews

Fonceiah

I absolutely loved Michael Greyeyes portrayal of one of the most iconic Native people in history. It was refreshing to see a Native person being seen as a 3 dimensional person with a sense of humor, intelligence, humility, etc. I am a native woman and was delighted to see our people seen as people. The story wasn't word for word accurate but the heart of the story was captured with grace & dignity. Thank you for making this film and respecting the person & people it represents.

Shalinrad

Can Jessica Chastain do any wrong? Every project she chooses has beauty and sophistication.

I'm saddened by the ignorant and imprudent reviews which I read this week. Especially someone calling it "listless". The ongoing hype on action movies and the many dialogues in movies have seemingly numbed the senses of the average moviegoers as they cannot anymore feel without touch, hear without words and see without movement.. The movie contains so many touching moments, relatable characters, an emotional bond between the leads, a sensitive approach to a dark material and a stunning cinematography which will make me watch the movie again on the big screen.

Since the topic on Native American rights, Standing Rock and pipelines is as relevant as ever, this movie is of great importance and should not be treated as a forgettable indie film - Shame on the so-called critics.

The Native Americans are treated and depicted respectfully by giving them character traits, letting them speak in their own language and showing their bond with nature and their understanding of life. In all movies about Native Americans which I watched, there has always been strong violence, humiliation and vulgarism. Noteworthily is the final shot of a white horse dancing upon hearing a gun shot accompanied by Jessica Chastain's painting-like suffering on the ground - with her loose and long hair which emphasises her long-awaited freedom ! So happy to finally watch a female Western about Native Americans, which is as beautiful as a Romantic painting and as touching as an elegy.

Legionstatic

Thank you for bringing this wonderful historical movie to the big screen. Jessica was outstanding, as were all the Native American actors. I had not seen any of them before in a film, they were superb! Sam Rockwell always plays such a GREAT BADASS. He should get a award nomination as well for his work in this movie! My hope also is that Native Americans continually regain their power and their beautiful culture and spirituality stays intact for eternity.

Oparae

My wife and I found this movie streaming on Amazon Prime, with high-def picture and D-D surround sound. Quite nice presentation and beautiful cinematography. Filmed in New Mexico.

It was the 1880s and Native Americans had already been defeated and controlled by the American government. A New York painter, Jessica Chastain in the role of Catherine Weldon, becomes sympathetic to the plight of the Natives and decides to travel to North Dakota to meet Sitting Bull, paint his portrait, and assist him and his people resist.

The movie isn't completely fact-based, it doesn't even mention her son, and the events that led to Sitting Bull's murder in 1890 are highly dramatized in the script, but overall it is a good dramatic depiction of what the relationship consisted of.

Canadian actor Michael Greyeyes is very good as Sitting Bull, powerful chief relegated to potato farming. This is a good movie but it is a sad reminder of how poorly the Native Americans were treated back then.

Xmatarryto

Susanna White, the director of WOMAN WALKS AHEAD creates a movie that takes historical facts & transforms them into a stunningly beautiful tale of search, discovery, redemption & the powerful reality of creativity & defeat. Jessica Chastain gives a deeply human portrait of a woman on the edge of a new world where nothing is as it should be and she discovers what is most important and significant for all individuals seeking a higher truth. The acting across the board is excellent- Susanna White has a very special way with actors that brings out the best in them without any overcompensation of "acting." This movie is so beautiful shot & edited it could be viewed as a silent film loaded with natural physical beauty (New Mexico) that overwhelms the eyes, brain & heart. I suggest anyone who cares about the future of real movies, directed with an original sensibility sorely lacking in most movies today, submit to this courageous & heartfelt exploration of indigenous people & a single white soul lost in history and revealed in WOMAN WALKS AHEAD.

Maveri

Knowing nothing of the story upon which this film centres, I have since viewing same been led to learn more about the treatment of Sitting Bull and his people leading up to the human tragedy of the massacre at Wounded Knee. Obviously this beautifully shot movie with its understated wonderful music score and very strong performances of lead characters, has left a deep impression. Justifiably, some reviews here have found fault with the story's historical inaccuracy such as the age of the two major characters. It seems that dramatic licence is always a component of movies based on real events. But this should not detract from all too real emotions engendered, not only between the artist and her subject but by the embittered townsfolk who see Sitting Bull and his people as true savages. A film of beauty to be recommended.

Lahorns Gods

This movie is to me as part American Indian enjoyable as it is told. I disagree with Roger Ebert's comments that it is too violent. However, I do not give it a high rating because it fictionalizes the story. The woman, Catherine Weldon, had an unsavory past which is not disclosed in the movie. She had been married but ran away with another man with whom she had a child. He also left her and her husband divorced her. She had a dream of living with Sioux. She joined the National Indian Defense Assn. and contrary to what is stated in the movie, it was on behalf of the Assn. that she traveled to the Dakota Territory. She did not go there for the purpose of painting Sitting Bull. And her son accompanied her on the journey and actually lived with the Sioux. When the Ghost Dancers became active, she warned Sitting Bull against them and warned him as to what would happen if he supported them. As a result, Sitting Bull rejected her and because of that and that her son was ill, she left him. Her son died on the way as she moved to Kansas City. She had a small inheritance which funded her trip but she never had any political influence as she asserted in the movie.

Aside from these discrepancies, the picture is a lesson in what happened to the Sioux and the acting is good. Setting aside the involvement of the artist, the overall story is informative and the scenery is grand.

Ienekan

If you are looking for typical western, full of fighting and action, that you will be disappointed. For some this movie is too slow, for me it was perfect. Beautiful, amazing, honest. Managed to show piece of history, and also of two people who, despite being of so different backgrounds, managed to find more than just business contract. Beautiful scenery, real history, and pain.

Deorro

Jessica Chastain turns in another thoughtful, nomination-worthy performance as Catherine Weldon, a 19th-century East Coast painter who journeyed West for new subjects and struck up a friendship with legendary Native leader Sitting Bull (with some dangerous consequences), adopting the tribal name 'Woman Walking Ahead.' Michael Greyhorse gives a soulful, defiant portrayal of Sitting Bull, with typically welcome flinty counterpoint from Sam Rockwell as calvary man Silas Groves. Though the real Weldon and Sitting Bull were older than the actors portraying them (as often happens in Hollywood; the gunslingers the film Young Guns was based on were not the dashing hunks like Emilio Estevez, Lou Diamond Phillips, etc. that portrayed them), Woman Walks Ahead is a fine addition to the cinema of the lost American West and the people that once roamed there, and as America swings ever right-ward against women's rights, a reminder that the feminine spirit that can never be entirely quashed by retrograde conservative forces.

Ximathewi

I find it hard to believe that anyone canhonestly give a rating lower than 7.0 for this movie unless it was done for political motive. The injustice done to the native Americans by the white settlers can never be atoned. Cathereine Weldon was a brave woman and she had contributed her share to do the right thing.

great ant

I applaud the intent, but lost confidence in the accuracy after just a bit of watching. Right off the bat when you toss a wood framed & backed & w/canvas painting into the water it doesn't sink. Good dramatic affect however. When they do a "it's suddenly raining scene" and the sky looks calmly blue, well ok, more dramatic affect. Asking for $1000 ($27,000 today) to pose for portrait seems exaggerated. All the antagonisms shown makes for good movie intrigue, but didn't seem believable. Chastain wasn't believable as Catherine Weldon who was a Native American rights advocate & did paint Sitting Bull, but not particularly well (in my opinion). Filming in N.M. didn't help especially w/the Dakotas having such beauty, authenticity, and willing stand-ins. We don't hear about his acts of bravery, his journey into Canada, his friendship w/Annie Oakley, his touring in a wild west show. The circumstances of his killing were misrepresented. Not shown was her fall out with S.B. and her leaving and life afterwards.

Pettalo

Although the movie was pleasing to watch it lacked accuracy in that the main characters were not portrayed as the correct age. The real persons would have been 10 to 15 years older. Also no create was given to the book from which this was taken. Book by the same name by author Eileen Pollack - 2002. Also, the facts of Mrs Weldon have been significantly changed from the information as related in the book.

Cargahibe

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Dances With Wolves, Hostiles, and this film are all about the same subject--the removal of Indians from the Western territories/states. Each one of these films tells the story from a different, yet true, perspective. Woman Walks Ahead shows clearly how ultra-conservatives can, and do, demonize anybody who doesn't agree with them. Ultra-liberals do the same thing, of course, and back in the NYC of this time period, where the female character played by Jessica Chastain hails from, there were plenty who didn't have a grasp of the situation out West. Chastain plays her part well--except for the fact that she can't keep a British accent though her character is supposed to be from England originally. Setting that aside, ready yourself for brutality comparable to Hostiles--and for a history lesson you won't forget.

Wal

What it's not: This is not a western movie, made up by White Hollywood to entertain you, showing you fights and "brave" cowboys.. A movie with interchangeable characters you forget about just as quickly as you finish your popcorn.

What it is: This movie is about human beings. Mass murder. The systematic genocide. True parts of history that have been avoided to be told far too many times. Hope. Hopelessness. Mourning and fraud. Framed by a woman that against the "social" reasoning at that time decided to confront injustice.

The actors, Chastain - Greyeyes - Rockwell, truly live up to the significance of their historic figures. You never see the roles, but the people who felt, lived, loved and faught for their ways of life. This movie touches you, affects you deeply in the core of your heart and won't leave any eye dry. A very honest movie that is one of a kind.

Ochach

I thought this was an excellent movie. It was so refreshing to see something so well done on Native Americans for once, the TRULY oppressed group that continues to struggle. A lot of negative reviews based on inaccurate events, but the film is not claiming to be based on a true story, it states it's based on true events, there's a difference people. I loved it, great story line with Native American history that left me shaken and saddened. Would highly recommend

Terr

30 seconds in to the film they were no longer historic. Most of the film is strictly entertainment, not historically correct.

JoldGold

This is based on true events for the most part .

In the 1890s, Catherine Weldon (Jessica Chastain) ventures out to North Dakota to paint Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes) and the Army out there isn't too happy about that as they think she will give Sitting Bull hope and there may be war. Also the Indian Agent James McLlaughlin (Claran Hinds) treats her very badly. The Lakota Indians are supposed to vote on a treaty that would give most of their land to the US government.

This is well told, well acted.and a really great story with excellent cinematography. The real name of Ms Weldon is Caroline Weldon, and why It was changed to Catherine in the story is not addressed. She had a son and lived with Sitting Bull at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota, and yes, she was a painter and also became a secetary and advisor to Sitting Bull. Of the two paintings of Sitting Bull that survived, one is at the North Dakota Historical Society in Bismark ND. In this story she has no son. (Hey, I looked it up)

I did think that this was THE KING AND I Indian style without the music and the romance. For the sake of the movie we see a younger Catherine Weldon and a younger Sitting Bull. Makes sense, right? (If you say so) We see excellent and honest banter between Catherine and Sitting Bull. Woman Walks Ahead is the name Sitting Bull gives to Catherine

We see an excellent story that uses historical facts to describe the last days of Sitting Bulll and what he had to contend with regarding the bad treatment he and his Lakota people suffered at the hands of an uncaring US government.

Jessica Chastain gave an excellent performance, but my vote for an Oscar goes to Michael Greyeyes for Best Actor because you will come to believe he was Sitting Bull. Kudos.

There is a very big plot hole regarding how Sitting Bull was killed and it didn't happen exactly the way it was portrayed in here. One of the most dramatic instances was what happened after Sitting Bull died, but we don't see that. All we see is a statement at the end that told of the slaughter of the Lakota people at Wounded Knee as the Lakota tribe went there after Sitting Bull's death.

Notables: Bill Camp as General Crook, who seemed most reasonable; Sam Rockwell as Colonel Grove, who is very hostile towards Catherine, but later tells Sitting Bull to let the Catherine go before morning as the soldiers will come to arrest him; and Chaske Spenser as Chaska, Indian soldier who takes Catherine to Sitting Bull.

Cannot say enough about the cinematography in here. Many scenes could become a painted scene and hanged in a museum. Simply fantastic. Kudos. (9/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: Yes, Sitting Bull changes clothes. Humor: Not really. Rating: A

Realistic

I suppose if you are a die hard movie buff this might not appeal to you. Yes there are some historical inaccuracies. But the scenery was beautiful as was the movie itself. It certainly depicted the plight of the plains Native Americans and the white mans horrible treatment of them. I thought the acting was good. Michael Grayeyes is very good as Sitting Bull and fine to look at. There was a lot of sexual tension between him and Jessica Chastain but nothing physical occured even though the characters had strong feelings for one another. I knew it wouldn't end well of course but it was very sad just the same. I would recommend the movie and worth thw time and cost and would certainly watch it again.

Mavivasa

No movie today should be made that is this historically inaccurate. There simply is no excuse.

September

How did this very, VERY white woman not get sunburned to a crisp the first 10 minutes in the high desert sun? Historical facts can be skewed, guessed at, made up. But never can it be, unless sci fi, possible to walk for hours, spend days, in the hot light of day without an effect on the skin.

Tar

The main problem with "Woman Walks Ahead" is simple: it just isn't that great of a flick. Even at just over an hour and a half, it seems to move at a glacial pace, and none of the performances are noteworthy whatsoever. A problem nearly as big: perhaps I have this opinion because it was beaten to the exact same punch by the extraordinary "Hostiles".

For a basic plot summary, "Woman Walks Ahead" tells the story of Catherine Weldon (Jessica Chastain), a widower who decides to leave her New York home for the Dakota prairie. The reason? She is a painter, and she wants to capture the personage of Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes), once the fearsome Native American warrior now turned potato farmer. Along the way, Catherine is caught up in a political battle over a treaty ratification, and spars with U.S. soldier Silas Groves (Sam Rockwell).

Earlier this year (2018), "Hostiles" really set the standard for how to make a modern-age Western. Gone are the "cowboys vs. indians" westerns of the 60s, and rightfully so (that style had become tawdry and played out). Now, the admittedly few westerns that hit the big screen are about more oblique, socially-sensitive issues revolving around Native/White relationships. The "problem" here, of course, is that "Hostiles" set the bar so high that similarly-themed movies are going to have trouble clearing it.

Thus, "Woman Walks Ahead" pales in comparison to that gripping, visceral film. Here, nothing important really seems to happen in terms of character interactions, performances, visuals, or anything else. The themes are there and all the right words are said, but nothing jumps off the screen in order to pull the viewer in. It all just kind of "happens" without much emotion or fanfare.

I can't say I was ever outright bored by this film, but it came close at times. One thing is for sure: It never sucked me into the atmosphere it wanted to create like "Hostiles" did. I hate to compare two films so closely in this fashion, but it was a legitimate issue for me from beginning to end while watching "Woman Walks Ahead".

นℕĨĈტℝ₦

We must watch and be enlightened by truths too important to lie buried in the sanitized pages of history books. One sees a glimpse of a magnificent people guided by their deep spiritual connection to nature and recognizes their vision of freedom and appreciation for the true value of a land that can never be owned and must be protected.

watching to future

Mercy, what a slaughter of the legend of Sitting Bull. Basically you have a simple story of, woman paints picture of Native American. Worst western I have ever seen in fifty-years.

Galanjov

Had a tough time following the plot, it screamed a female version of Dances with Wolves, without the romantic connection. so close to being a good movie

Hucama

This movie requires a good understanding of the Lakota language as a lot of that dialogue has no subtitles. So a key converstaion at the end between the US Colonel and Sitting Bull were completely lost on me, which made it totally meaningless. So it all ended a bit strangely and as a result became somewhat pointless.

Nevertheless it's a good example of how the US destroyed most of the native population, a fact still largely played down by a country too eager to criticise foreign governments and too quick to declare war on those that don't fit with the American way of life.

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