The Sunchaser is a standard-fare movie with a plot that's set up to provide a predictable outcome. Woodie Harrelson plays an eminent surgeon who's responsible for the welfare of a terminally-ill half-Indian, half-homey-from-the-hood 16 year-old serving a custodial sentence for murder. The two principal characters couldn't be more diametrically opposed if they tried - they come from opposite sides of the social track. The only thing keeping the young man alive is the dream of a mythical Navajo holy mountain with a sacred healing lake, which sets in motion a sequence of events that leads to Harrelson's kidnap and flight across several states at gunpoint. Harrelson's surgeon is a pragmatist and natural-born scientific sceptic who doesn't share the youth's flights of fancy. There's sufficient tension between the two characters to maintain the plot's momentum. Harrelson plays the predictable sceptic who eventually capitulates after much soul-searching and bonding with the criminal-minded youth, and finally assists the young man to his destination. There are some touching moments and an indisputable magic in the final scene as the young man is escorted by an Indian holy-man to the lake. The movie finishes rather abruptly without filling in what happens to the youth after his submergence into the lake, and only giving us a glimpse of Harrelson in handcuffs being led by FBI agents to his wife and baby daughter as the credits roll. The throughline of the movie is simple: the journey the soul needs to make to embrace hope and faith. It's nothing special as far as movies in general go; however, it stands out as one of the best examples of a road-movie.

I watched it almost alone in a Italian theater a few years ago and I liked it very much for there is soul in this movie which is about soul. the question raised by sunchaser is: what can a man earn after he has lost its soul? the answers is: nothing. because nothing you can buy (be it an expensive car, a luxury home or the prettiest woman) can replace or substitute it. so care about your soul, live up to the great questions that life brings and do not try to skip them. as an Italian i admit that I enjoyed very much the beautiful landscapes portrayed by this master of the camera.Marno76

Within the first 15 minutes, Cimino firmly establishes that Dr. Reynolds (Harrelson) is a Bad Person(tm). How do we know this? He's successful in his work. He interrupts conversations to take calls from his wife. He worries about house payments. He drives a (*gasp*) Porsche. Baaad Dr. Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds needs 16-year-old murderer Monroe (Seda) to help him get in touch with his spiritual side. Monroe's half Navajo, so he's just naturally in tune with that sort of thing. Ugh. Having enjoyed Harrelson's other films, I was caught unawares by this self-righteous load of trash. Avoid at all costs. Or rent it with Heaven's Gate and get together with a few friends for a do-it-yourself MST3k double feature.

SunChaser is a kind of movie you like or you dislike. Its about a criminal boy who has nothing to lose because he will die in a few weeks. So he kidnaps his doctor to find an Indian cure. This doctor realizes that his life is at a point that he has everything to lose but his soul. So he has to find a cure as well.I really loved Sunchaser. The atmosphere off the story breaths hope. It is not to late to learn to live untill your last breath. So if you have 2 hours to spare, and you don't want to rent an Adam Sandler or Jerry Bruckheimer video, rent this one. You won't be disappointed.