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Squanto: A Warrior's Tale - 1994
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today's film is 1994's "Squanto: A Warrior's Tale", in which we explore the story of how the first Thanksgiving in America came to be.
The film's cast includes Adam Beach, Michael Gambon, Mandy Patinkin, Eric Schweig, Donal Donnelly, Stuart Pankin, and Irene Bedard.
Squanto is a young American Indian man just starting out in life. He was foretold by his father that his eyes would see far beyond the shores of their land.
Things are looking up for Squanto. He's just gotten married to a lovely young woman named Nakooma.
The day after their wedding, Squanto gets kidnapped along with fellow Indian Epenow by some English explorers.
They are taken to England, where Squanto and Epenow are informed that they are the "property" of Sir George.
Sir George bills Squanto as a "savage" and a "barbarian". A crowd is gathered to watch Squanto fight with a bear.
After being injured by the bear, Squanto begins to sing to it in his language, which causes the animal to lie down and go to sleep. The crowd is mesmerized by the spectacle.
Squanto uses the opportunity to escape from captivity. Sir George is furious and orders a search party to bring Squanto back no matter what it takes.
Squanto escapes by boat and gets caught in a large storm. He's washed ashore somewhere along the English countryside, where he is found by some monks who bring him back to their monastery.
He begins to heal from his injuries and learns to trust the monks who have taken care of him. Squanto also comes to realize that his protector is the hawk, who warns him when danger is near.
As time passes, Sir George gets angrier and angrier. He can't believe that no one can find Squanto. "A naked Indian with
hair down to the ground and a necklace made of shells and feathers
disappears into a civilized city, and all the well paid and well-trained
military men can’t find him. It’s not a needle in the haystack. It’s a haystack!" he exclaims.
At the monastery, Squanto forms a bond with Brother Daniel. The two begin to teach each other their languages so they can understand one another.
Squanto makes moccasins for Brother Timothy who loves them and declares them to be super comfortable. Brother Paul, who is mistrustful of Squanto, says, "Brother Timothy, you
did not join this monastery to be comfortable! There will be comfort enough in the life to
come."
And Squanto even introduces the monks to such novelties foods as popcorn, which the brothers proclaim to be delicious.
When it is learned that a boat is headed for the New World, Squanto is anxious to be on it. All the brothers sadly bid him farewell. Even Brother Paul has come to see Squanto as a friend and is sorry to see him go.
Squanto is reunited with Epenow on the boat. While Squanto had a mostly good experience in England, Epenow is very bitter about the time spent there as he was in captivity the entire time.
Once back in America, Squanto goes to his village and is devastated to see that not one member of his tribe is left alive. All have been wiped out by disease brought over by the English settlers.
Tensions rise between the people of Epenow's tribe and the English. Fighting causes both sides to be aggressive towards each other.
Squanto lays down his weapons and urges both sides to do the same. He cautions that enough blood has been shed.
And so the Indians begin to help the Pilgrims learn how to live in this new land. At harvest time they come together to give thanks for all that they've been provided.
Cast rundown:
Adam Beach.................................Squanto
Michael Gambon............................Sir George
Mandy Patinkin..............................Brother Daniel
Eric Schweig..................................Epenow
Donal Donnelly..............................Brother Paul
Stuart Pankin................................Brother Timothy
Irene Bedard.................................Nakooma
And that's it for Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. The Indian language spoken in this film is Mi'kmaq, which was actually spoken in Nova Scotia and not in Massachusetts where this movie is set. The film has been heavily criticized for its historical inaccuracies. It has also been called the first film to tell the story of the first Thanksgiving from Squanto's point of view.
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