As a poet, activist and spoken-word performer, John Trudell is one of the most prominent and passionate advocates for Native American rights. From the 1969-71 occupation of Alcatraz by the American Indian Movement to the campaign to free Leonard Peltier, convicted of the 1975 killings of two F.B.I. agents, Mr. Trudell has fought tirelessly for fair treatment for his people.

Assembling an impressive collage of newsreels, live performances and interviews with admirers, "Trudell" delivers a fascinating account of its subject's most turbulent crusades. But the man who calls Western civilization "the great lie" and once compared Christopher Columbus to Osama bin Laden deserves more daring and objective scrutiny than this overly reverent tribute. No one in the film has a bad word to say about Mr. Trudell, despite his 17,000-page F.B.I. dossier; and by the time Robert Redford assures us that meeting him is not dissimilar to meeting the Dalai Lama, you may feel that all this worship does not do justice to an unusually stormy and complicated life.

(review from the New York Times)

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