Sometimes, you come across movies that you know everyone thinks are terrible, but then you watch them and come out realizing you've just seen some great films.The White Buffalo, with Charles Bronson and Will Sampson, is one of those movies. Based on a novel by Richard Sale, this film takes place in the American West post-Civil War and sees Bronson as historical figure "Wild Bill" Hickok preparing to fight a giant white bison that haunts his dreams. Sampson plays another historical figure, Native American chief Crazy Horse, who is also after the beast because it killed his infant daughter. Right away, we have a great kind of story: normal men going up into the snowy mountains of the West to fight a legendary monster that haunts anyone who feels its presence and lives in its territory. However, what makes it much better is the dark themes within. One thing to note is that this is not a "fun" version of the West with cowboys and bandits. The minute Bronson arrives into town and sees a big pile of bison bones, you know that this film is going to feel pretty bleak. In fact, around the time the film takes place, the "white man" had started to expand into the West and with that, started to push out the local Native American tribes and take over their lands. Not only that, the "white man" had killed off most of the bison that Native Americans relied on for every aspect of their lives, from food to clothing to shelter to tools. Still on the subject, hatred of the "white man" towards Native Americans is something else that is a heavy presence in the film. During his journey to find the beast, Bronson takes his old friend, Charlie Zane, played by Jack Warden with him, but when Crazy Horse joins them, Zane dislikes him pretty much instantly and one can watch and wonder if he's going to let his personal racism get in the way of the hunt. Hickok and Crazy Horse are both aware of the hatred between their people and yet somehow are able to see past those hatreds and become understanding friends. Both Bronson and Sampson give pretty restrained but effective performances. A good number of side characters are also interesting. We have John Carradine in a small role as an undertaker and a sultry Kim Novak as an old lover of Hickok's. A few of the scenes with these side characters could admittedly come across as filler, but the best ones establish what kind of relationships Hickok has developed over the years and how he reacts to each of them. People usually say that the bison is simply a demon that Hickok fears, but it may be more than that: it could be a representation of the guilt he feels and the pain he has caused others over the years. It is even mentioned throughout the film that he blew away a Native American called the Peacemaker, and he later acknowledges his guilt over the incident. What the film also has going for it is the haunting atmospheres and music. How good is the music? All I can say is, by the time the end credits started with pictures of Bronson and Sampson as their respective characters, and the music started, I truly felt that I had witnessed a haunting battle between a legendary monster and two historical figures in a bleak American West on the verge of being changed completely by the "white man."
Review of The White Buffalo
