This is the clearest and most direct version of the abuses that boarding schools perpetrated against Native Americans in the United States and Canada. I disagree strongly with those who claim the film is inaccurate. In fact, the rapes, physical abuse, and neglect leading to murder of children are accurate according to the records boarding school survivors recount. Most films which depict Native American struggles fear to "go there," to truly face the more hideous abuses that Native American children continued to endure until mere decades ago. The passing of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 finally ended this pattern of kidnapping and horrifying deprivation, but the legacy lives on.Georgina Lightning did a fantastic, masterful job directing and writing this film. She has created a heartbreaking testament to the spirit of survival which many Native American women over the years have embodied.The film furthermore links racist abuse with cultural genocide and the manner in which white doctors turned trauma into a pathology. Women of Color have been diagnosed as mentally ill and institutionalized historically for reasons similar to the protagonist in this film. Few films truly reflect this reality.In other words, this is a brave, cutting-edge look at a tragic portion of U.S. history whose legacy continues today.

Visually, it was okay. Editing was good. The main story I understood. It was about "Rain" having these nightmares about her mom's boarding school. A priest who put her mom in a mental facility, wants to do the same to Rain. Why? because of the atrocities priest & nuns did to Native kids at the school many years ago. I got lost & confused & had questions, many questions. What is Bradley Cooper doing in this film? Why did a Native kill a white government worker? Why?! Was Adam Beach a real police officer or just an idiot? He was accepted into the FBI academy but didn't know Law or how to investigate? Rain was in a car accident & John said she had a bump on her head. Where was it? My list of questions go on..., Georgina Lightning wrote, directed & starred in this. A feat in itself. I hear she won all these Indie awards. For what? My questions continue...,

A native American horror movie? "older than America" Is a native American thriller/ drama/ horror based on an Indian reservation. In the beginning the movie follows a geologist that has come to the reservation to investigate an earthquake that is uncommon in those parts. That story is kinda of a parallel story that never merges with the main story of the move. The main story centers around a school that was abusive to native American kids. It also follows the main character rain and her problems with seeing things that aren't really there. After looking at how the movie has two stories that never merge, how it is poorly directed, and by how it does not have an interesting story line I say that this is a bad quality movie.*As someone who enjoys a good thriller/ drama/ horror movie I thought the director Did not do a good job directing the movie. The two stories never really merge which leads me to come to the conclusion that the first story was just a filler for time Or they just wanted to add a famous face to the mix, Bradley cooper. interestingly The director was actually in the movie and though i understand it is hard to find Native American actors she should have spent more time actually directing the movie and the acting seemed mediocre at best.. The camera angles were subpar and I thought that the lighting was also not quality as it is hard to see some parts.The abuse of native American children during that time is a real and serious issue. The plot of this movie did not really do that serious part of history justice. The serious truths were cluttered by flashbacks, scenes of electroshock therapy, people building resorts on sacred land, and a deranged priest, Only to show small flashbacks of a boarding school that should have been mentioned a great deal more. At the end the movie gives some pretty gruesome facts about native American children in boarding school which implies it wants to get across a serious message. It simply does not.To a person who is interested in watching poor quality movies, this is A great movie for you to watch. Many elements of the story clutter what should be the actual intention of the movie, The directing is subpar, and it is simply not an interesting story. The movie was originally released in 2008 under the title of " older than America" and was re- released in 2012 under the title "american Evil". This movie also went straight to DVD. These fact show that No one really ever wanted to watch it and i'm not even sure it was intended to be a quality movie that people wanted to watch.

I was surprised by the negative reviews of this movie. I found it entrancing. It's a glimpse into a different culture, and a different way of thinking.I don't believe this is a ghost story, as much as a taste of a different world view. I loved the Original American sensibility that permeates the film-- from the slow, considering way of speaking, through the belief that visions are real, to the effort to show that the unspoken of the past must be brought to light for harmony to prevail. The actors are so believable. I ended up with empathy for everyone (and want to know more of their story-- hint hint)The movie caught the insular nature of a small, isolated community. Until you've spent a fair bit of time in one, you wouldn't believe the power that authority figures have. Unless you've been around Catholics or Protestants of the older generation, you wouldn't believe the power that a priest can have. Unfortunately, I've experienced both, and the aunt/priest/lock-up-the- truth-sayer scenario rang true to me.I think that the European American scientist character is supposed to be a device to represent a modern western view of the situation. It is a little raggedy, but that's OK because the story is so powerful on its own that the character is a non-interfering sidelight to the story. I look forward to watching more films by these writers and directors.