neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Business Of Fancydancing
	Sherman Alexie Evan Adams, Gene Tagaban, Swil Kanim, Michelle St. John, Rebecca Carroll, Cynthia Geary, Elaine Miles 2002		Sherman Alexie, the Native American scribe who wrote the affable, unassuming road picture "Smoke Signals," directs his first film, a seemingly autobiographical drama that takes a fresh, experimental approach to the adage "You can never go home," but comes up short in character motivations and plot clarity. Written by Alexie, "The Business of Fancydancing" involves the spiritual growth of Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams of "Smoke Signals"), a gay Indian poet from the Spokane tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Seymour was raised on the reservation, departed for college, found success in mainstream America and never returned home. Upon learning of a childhood friend's death, the wanderer comes back to the reservation for the funeral, where he's confronted by the culture and people that he left behind. Most wrenching are Seymour's encounters with the girlfriend who had to cope with his homosexual awakening and the embittered, alcoholic pal who dropped out of school to remain on the reservation.