rotsmovie "Edge" is a pretty weak adaptation of a documentary by Rick Derby called "Rocks with Wings." I caught Derby's documentary at the Hawaii International Film Festival a few years ago and I recently rented "Edge" because I enjoyed Derby's work so much and was excited to see that a movie seemed to have been made based on it. After watching it, however, I thought it unfortunate that movie makers couldn't make a great adaptation without turning it into a syrupy "Remember the Titans" formula or ratcheting away the true humanity and beauty of a work like "Rocks" by throwing in stereotyped Native-American problems of teen delinquency (teen pregnancy and alcoholism, which is nowhere in the documentary) and a poor excuse for a sports climax (when basketball was only half of the story in the documentary). "Edge" also only gave a brief patronization of the whole idea of the Navajo art philosophy central to the documentary, and outright ridiculed the "rocks with wings" mythology ("No, it's just a big rock"). The characters were flat and stereotyped and the story arc plain implausible and rushed. It's a shame that a better movie couldn't have been made that would be true to the cultural lessons and conflicts and in posthumous honor of Jerry (the African-American coach who comes from the east coast to teach/coach in Shiprock, New Mexico). Aside from the obvious, none of the important conflicts of the documentary could be found in the movie; i.e. the cultural clash between African-American individual achievement in the face of adversity (of which Jerry was a great example) vs. the Navajo cultural ethos of taking things as they come; or the real and interesting spiritual dichotomy between traditional Navajo mythology and the newer ideas of Christianity—both important to the native community; the triumph of unity that the team's success brought to the community was also missing; also, the metaphor of Navajo art and expression compared to the real life drama unfolding in the lives of the girls, the coaches and the team mother, as these conflicts and the "imperfection" of their lives and humanness that led them to ultimately learn to "win the right way." "Edge" will let you kill a couple hours with an almost-well done formula movie about a conflict of cultures within the context of a high school girls basketball team, but for a much richer look at a real life drama that comes from a clash of cultures and coaching styles, the injustice of discrimination and triumph of human desire, the connections between life and art, the heroism within competitive sports and a myriad of human motives that play out among a cast of characters that are a universal microcosm of the people we meet everyday, check out Derby's documentary.

ifjed The premise is reasonable. Basketball is big on many reservations, and there are black basketball players (e.g., Kareem Abdul-Jabaar) who have volunteer on reservations. Sure, there are a lot of clichés from other Indian movies. But overall, the acting is good (especially Wes Studi), though the black coach's performance is a bit stiff at times. The most surprisingly thing about the film to me is that it never got any kind of commercial release. But then again, it is about Indians. And who is the Uwhited States of America cares about Indians? Not many people. Fortunately in my town there are several outlets to see non-commercial movies ("Christmas in the Clouds" is another good, Native-American-theme movie that you probably won't see unless you live in a similar town). Anyway, thanks, Mr. Eyre, for a good show. Maybe not your best pic, but still a good one.

thegort This fine film has been shown on Showtime and has finally been released on DVD. The previous documentary on the subject, Rocks With Wings, is not available on video or DVD, to my knowledge. If you enjoyed Eyre's Smoke Signals, you will likely love this one. Great characters, a lovely story, much humor, and some pathos are present with a large dose of Navajo wisdom and custom. A highlight was Coach's realization of the irony of being called "white man", a highly derogatory term, when he was behaving badly. The acting was consistently fine from both the professionals and the young amateurs. The director's deft touch had us constantly on the verge of tears and laughter. Highly recommended.

aaaacme Another viewer wrote: "Killer premise: Black male teacher is recruited suddenly to teach English at an Indian reservation high school and takes over as coach of the hapless girls basketball team." Actually, it wasn't an original premise at all, but a true story.Just enough details were changed by the producers to avoid having to pay for the rights to the life of coach Jerry Richardson and the young women of the Shiprock, New Mexico Lady Chieftains high school basketball team. An award-winning documentary ("Rocks With Wings") about Coach Richardson, the team, and their profound influence upon life on the Navajo Reservation had already played across the country and aired on PBS before Chris Eyre and Willy Holtzman attempted their awkward adaptation-- "Rocks With Wings" tells the same story, but with far greater insight and subtlety, as well as a few more plot twists. I would recommend that documentary over "Edge of America" to anyone interested in this story.