Skinwalkers
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Joe Leaphorn (Wes Studi), a seasoned cop accustomed to the city ways of Phoenix, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque, has returned to the Navajo reservation. His wife Emma (Sheila Tousey) is recovering from cancer and feels rejuvenated by the landscape and people of her homeland. Leaphorn is less sure about their return. Well schooled in urban policing, he is soon confronted with a particular Navajo case: a mysterious killer who has a special antipathy for medicine men. Leaphorn works with a partner Jim Chee (Adam Beach), an FBI Academy grad who is also training to be a traditional Navajo healer.
Roman George's body is found miles from his abandoned truck and surrounded by ancient symbols etched in blood. A local archeologist holds the key to the symbols he left behind, so Chee and Leaphorn pay him a visit at a nearby Anasazi ruins. There, these partners find further clues indicating that the murderer may be a "skinwalker," a Navajo witch with the power to shape shift, or change from human to animal, move with lightning speed, and to kill with curses. Fearing that his mentor, Wilson Sam (Saginaw Grant), will be next, Chee convinces the medicine man to hide in a nearby motel.
As Chee juggles the day-to-day police work on the reservation, Leaphorn tracks down clues to the identity of the evasive criminal. More ancient symbols are found at an abandoned paint factory, where a local gang has been congregating. What do the signs mean? Who is sending these messages in blood? Could the murders be linked to the old Dinetah Paints scandal and lead poisoning in the region? Chee does not have much time to mull these questions over, before finding himself in the killer's crosshairs.

Review: I'm a fan of Hillerman's mysteries, and had high hopes for Redford's film adaptations.
I should preface my comments by saying that I've read about two-thirds of the Navajo mysteries, and Skinwalkers is my least favorite, so in some sense my disappointment started with the choice of book to adapt.
In the books, Leaphorn's defining attribute is his preternatural intuition, which he backs up with methodical procedure--sort of an aging Navajo Adam Dalgleish.
However, what the Skinwalker movie does is take a single dimension of the characters--the fact that Chee is an active participant in Navajo spirituality and Leaphorn is not--and make that their defining contrast.
This distorts Leaphorn in particular almost beyond recognition: rather than the icy logician of the books, whose attitude toward Navajo spiritual tradition is at worst pragmatic, the movie renders him as sort of a reservation Dirty Harry (with a smaller gun), informed primarily by cynicism about human motives.
Given this, there's nothing for Chee to be in awe of, and their collaboration is presented as an equal division of labor, with Chee providing the "Navajo insider" angle and Leaphorn the "hardheaded cop" grounding.Beyond this, the plot of the movie diverged considerably from that of the book, for the worse in my opinion.
In particular, the book has an especially tense episode near the end when one of the principles is in grave danger, a scene that could have been adapted to great effect.
Instead, the movie's denouement feels forced, as is not that exciting.For fans of Hillerman's books, I strongly recommend seeing the film of The Dark Wind, which I think captures the feel of the books much better than does Skinwalkers.
I have a harder time recommending The Dark Wind to those unfamiliar with the books, as it has a slow pace and will probably be hard to follow.
I noticed that "Skinwalkers" was filmed in the Phoenix area, but Mr. Redford knew that he'd not be filming taboo places around Phoenix as was a problem with "Dark Wind".Navajo and those associated closely with the language will note that the actors are not flawless by any stretch, but at least they tried.
("Windtalkers")Tony Hillerman's books are always going to be better than his movies.
I think the reason that they made Leaphorn so ignorant of his people's ways is so that bilighana (Anglo) (and you have to admit that most people watching any movie are not going to be Navajo) can understand why Chee does some of the things he does.
Makes sense to Navajo and friends, but most others would just turn it off thinking it "weird" without the movie explaining thoughts and motives.I hope this is enough of a success that they will try ALL of Mr. Hillerman's books which honor the beauty of a gentle people and their beautiful home.
I would like to see them try Navajo actors, but Adam Beach is giving an admirable performance, especially in capturing the wonderful quiet ways of the Navajo..
My comments may be a little late to the party, but this was the first one I've seen adapting one of Tony Hillerman's Navajo mystery novels to the screen.
After seeing the movie and reading some of the comments, it is evident there are too many reviewers getting caught up in the location and tribal origin of the actors chosen, thus, obscuring the fact that this is a decent, enjoyable, and satisfying movie.
If it compels a few people who haven't had the opportunity to pick up any of Hillerman's work and start enjoying the unique mixture of Navajo Indian culture and old-fashioned who-dun-it, then it did its job.Though I haven't read all of the series, including the book this movie was based upon, the movie was a respectable representation of a typical Hillerman novel.
I think one reviewer was right on the nose when they mentioned that both Leaphorn's and Chee's character, the two principle individuals in a good number of the novel series, were not entirely faithful to the book.
That may have been necessary because in the books, both of them don't say anymore than necessary and there are a lot of character thoughts expressed to the reader, something that can't be done as easily through a movie unless the director uses a voice-over approach to express the thoughts.
Believe me, these are small quibbles for what is otherwise an admirable job to play these two decidedly different men.What is over-emphasized is the repeated complaint of those who say the characters didn't look Navajo-like or that the locations didn't represent the Navajo nation in general.
As far as them not looking Navajo enough, I'd be willing to bet most of them didn't get that while watching the movie, they probably learned that little tidbit of information through the movie sites with extensive biographical info on the actors.
So, exactly how many people who watch the movie who aren't from the immediate area are going to give a cactus prick about the actors not matching the tribal features of most Navajos?
I'll watch Graham Greene playing anything, whether the part calls for native North American or not.
It is a tribute to Hillerman's work that his would be the first mystery series based on an American novel to be produced through Mystery, who has provided such a terrific portfolio of British based mysteries for a long time..
Within minutes of the opening scenes of "Skinwalkers", I no longer dwelt upon the thought that a murder movie on an Indian Reservation is an unusual setting and, instead, focused on the murder mystery itself.
In this sense, it reminds me of "Barbershop" (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0303714) in its ability to portray a particular sub-culture in America without actually dwelling on the differences between that sub-culture and America as a whole.In other words, these movies become successful when you are drawn into the story so deeply that you realise that the sub-culture is as much a world in its own right as the so-called "majority" of America.I would love to see this film turned into a weekly series.
I like the fact that all the actors and the director were of Native-American descent, it gives the story more authenticity.A murder happened in an Indian country, thus the investigation and trial were subject to the jurisdiction of the tribe.
I highly recommend that law professors use this movie to teach the students how the justice system operates in an Indian Country.
As a student of American Indian Law, I found that they were a minority group the was really hurt by the people that came to North America to find a land of freedom.
I like anyone who gives any minority group an opportunity to be portrayed as `human beings' rather than the traditional stereotypes.The mystic side of the culture is shown as well, and it is done with details on their symbols and witchcraft.I think that the casting was wonderful, giving Native Americans a chance to shine.
It would be a great to see a minority group that seldom has the chance to be portrayed in a positive fashion to have a series where they are not the `nasty, dumb guys'  Jamie is following his dad, Robert Redford's, footsteps and breaking new ground in the American film industry!
Robert Redford has given an endowment to the American cinema, as well as the International cinema like no one else I know of.
The only really good thing I can say about this movie is that it inspired me to re-read the book.
The book had some scenes that would have made wonderful cinema such as the interogation of a murder suspect who gleefully confesses to the committing the crime but claims to have used a rifle instead of a knife, the surprise reception for Chee at his first session as a healer, the discovery of the true identity of the shotgun artist, Leaphorn's rescue of Chee that unintentionally delivers him into the hands of the real murderer, and the ironic circumstances that rescue Chee for the second time.
What was the reason for discarding these potentialy terrific moments and replacing them with a script that was almost on the same level as the type of Hollywood TV detective series that gets justifiably canceled in its first season?Some other elements from the book that were missing or barely noticeable in the movie include the thrill of Chee being able to prove himself to the legendary Leaphorn, the intricate convergence of both detectives towards the same suspect from different evidence,  Leaphorn's map, the evidence of how some Navajo endure the hassle of nearly impassable roads in order to live in locations of isolation and visual splendor, and of course the original method used by the murderer to commit his crimes.Perhaps someday America will produce a mystery series on par with the best that England has to offer.
Tony Hillerman's novel are certainly the proper raw material for such an endeavour, but to me this movie is a major irritant as I can not help seeing how it squanders the opportunity to have created something truly excellent..
Great movie about Native American struggle and conflict on culture and modernity.
This movie gave a moving portrayal of Native Americans, between ones that wants to dismiss their past and assimilate with the outsider and their cultures, and ones that wants to hang on to their tradition.
It all comes down to a complicated clash between various characters and how each one resolves the issue within itself.This was a good mystery film too, revealing little by little as to the motive for the murders.Chris Eyre did a good job in this film, having seen his other movie Smoke Signals, he gives a somber atmosphere to both of these films.
Redford completely ruins two great mystery characters.
Robert Redfords PBS "Mystery" adaptations of Tony Hillerman's Navajo police novels completely ruins the two main characters, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn.
Chee in the books was a regular guy who also happened to be deeply involved in his people's culture, to the point of learning to be a "singer" or healer.
In the films he is already an expert on all things spiritual, the mystical Indian stereotype who has no real personality, no faults to speak of, no doubts about anything, no insecurities.
In Hillerman's books, Joe Leaphorn was a "legendary detective" who was also a highly educated scholar, at least as if not much more knowledgeable about Navajo and Native American culture and religion than Chee.
In these crappy movies, poor Wes Studi's version of Leaphorn has been made into a man who knows virtually nothing about his own culture, doomed to be forever "educated" by the know it all mystic man Chee.
And it was this part of the relationship that made their two characters so interesting when thrown together.Producer Robert Redford took two fairly complex characters (by paperback mystery novel standards) and mooshed 'em down into nothing but two more Indian stereotypes.Redford's first effort to adapt Hillerman (which his company now tries to pretend never existed) was Errol Morris's "The Dark Wind." While that flick was no masterpiece, it was head and feet above these slow, dumbed down TV movies..
Superb PBS Mystery program of book by Hillerman.
Having read several of Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee mysteries, I was  excited to learn that one would be the first American series of PBS' Mystery.Wes Studi portrayed the "uptight" Leaphorn very well.
Adam Beach was also great as the more sensitive and perhaps a little naive Jim Chee.
Although I guessed who the villain was in this story, it was close to the end when Leaphorn and Chee also discovered the truth.I grew up seeing Native Americans or Indians always the enemy.
It is good to see a story of Indians and their cultural ways in an everyday setting..
I also find it amusing that Adam Beach's character pointed out Apache somatotypes in "Smoke Signals", so the actor cannot possibly be unaware.
You will see more Navajo in Skinwalkers than I recall seeing in Coyote Waits, and I bet you will soon start recognizing  who in the film is a real Navajo and who is not...
They still didn't film in the right locations as the Navajo are Mesa people, but the scenery is beautiful just the same.
I grew up on the Navajo Nation, and right away in the first 30 minutes I see that the movie was filmed over 200 miles away from the Navajo Nation where the story takes place.The movie has been filmed in the Phoenix area and the buildings that were shown were not anywhere near where they should have been.The first movie based on a Tony Hillerman movie had actually been filmed on the Navajo Nation.
Too bad Redford decided to stray from the book.The casting is very dissapointing to see only people who succeed in butchering the beautiful language that we speak.The Navajo Police cars and uniforms are correct, but Joe Leaphorn is a Navajo character that does not know the lanuguage and customs.
Leaphorn in all the Hillerman novels knows the customs and traditions.In the Dark Wind, Leaphorn was played by a Non-Indian who was able to speak Navajo.
It appears that Adam Beach who butchered Navajo in Wind Talkers is doing a great job of butchering Navajo again here.it's now 44 minutes into the movie and i'm very dissapointed that i missed Malcom in the Middle..
A long-time fan of the books, I watched the film a little on edge.
I just have to say after being a fan on Tony Hillerman's for years that I was afraid what would happen to my favorite characters if they were adapted to the big screen.
Thanks Mr. Hillerman for taking a chance on your characters that you created being adapted for film..
I'm not a Native American so I cannot comment on the accuracy of the customs presented or on whether the actors "butchered" the language.
As a non Native American, however, I can say the movie was very entertaining and educational.
When Hollywood first started doing movies on African-American culture, they presented "facts" that I disagreed with.
....to, maybe, a series of adaptations of Hillerman's books?
PBS, Robert Redford, Tony Hillerman and company has done a decent job here.
Wes Studi plays Joe Leaphorn a little close to the chest, but the casting of him playing opposite Adam Beach was brilliant.
This beautifully cast motion picture really brought to life Tony Hillerman's Skinwalkers.
It is impossible to exact a movie from a novel and I am glad to see that James Redford did not even try.
What he did was give life to Chee and Leaphorn who I know so well in my mind.
It think this movie was very well acted by Wes Studi, Adam Beach, and the rest of the supporting cast.
This movie as well as his novels give us an insight into a culture that is fascinating and mystical.
He also has a way of bringing a mystery together from many different angles that came across beautifully on screen..
I just saw this movie, and I would like to say that this was a great mystery.
The setting is in a Navajo county, Adam Beach plays a cop and a medicine man that makes sure things in town are going the way they are supposed to, and Wes Studi plays a good detective.
The movie is great because it shows you how the Native American life is.
The roles that Beach and Studi play, are roles of heros that would do anything in order to set things right.
This movie was very good and I would highly recommend people that like mystery films, to see this movie..
James Redford did such an excellent job with the writing that I look forward to seeing more of his work.
A made-for-TV film, based on a book by Tony Hillerman.
About the only actor I was familiar with, was Wes Studi, playing the grumpy Lt. Leaphorn.
Adam Beach did a fair job in carrying the film as a semi-leading character (Lt. Leaphorn's local help, officer Jim Chee).
Morris Bitsie in particular has commented accurately, as have all the people who vastly preferred the book(s).It just begs the question to have the benefit of Tony Hillerman's own acknowledgement in the afterword that the process of making a movie is very different from that of writing a novel.
But to see the movie set on the low desert instead of the high plateau of the Navajo nation is almost as sacrilegious as giving short shrift to the actual language, religion, and culture of the Dine themselves.As a former student at Northern Arizona University with many friends on the nation, I was dismayed to see Hillerman's sensitive and intricate plot and characters chopped up, re-sorted, and spat out as yet another Hollywood style detective yarn.
Only the mere fact that all the main characters were at least Native Americans saved it, though the usual all-Indians-look-alike-so-why-bother-to-get-real-Navajos aspect is so obvious as to be ludicrous.Because I want to see better versions of Hillerman in the future, and I think Adam Beach has an appealing start toward a real Jim Chee, I rated this about four points too high at a 7 of 10.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation of Tony Hillerman's "SKINWALKERS".
I hope there will be more presentations of HILLERMAN's books in the near future..
Hope we see more of Leaphorn and Chee.
Fortunately, that's not the case here with Lt. Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee as created so memorably in Tony Hillerman's brilliant mysteries about the Navajo Tribal Police.
While much had to be cut from the book to fit into a 90+ minute time slot on PBS, enough character remains and it bodes well if PBS continues to adapt these mysteries.
Particularly Wes Studi ("Last of the Mohicans" and "Mystery Men") as Leaphorn.