Review of Powwow Highway (1989) by Kitty — 09 Mar 2008

Here is another best buddies having a good time on the road or anywhere adventure film like the films of: Cheech & Chong, Easy Rider, Wayne's World, Bill and Ted, etc. This one involves a slow mentally challenged Native American Cheyenne man named Phibert Bono.

As we see here at the start of the movie we see him walking into a junk yard on the reservation, playing his harp and heading straight for the Junk Yard manager's office. As he comes in he asks the Manager that he wants to buy one of his fine ponies (one of the rusted cars in the junk yard) and while he's there he happens to go over to the window of the shop looks outside in a daze, smiling thinking his having a vision about a brown and white spotted horse running through a field.

So when he finally comes out of his daze, he finally picks out the rusted-wrecked old '64 Buick car thinking that his vision told him to get it. When Philbert turns around the Manager smirks at him thinking his crazy for wanting an old rusted heap.

Then the Manager asks him how he's going to pay for it? Philbert upon saying nothing and smiling lays down a $25.00 baggie worth of marijuana and a bottle of whiskey that he pulls out of his jacket for payment on his desk.

The Manager seeing this without asking no more questions, picks up the baggie, smells it (to see if it's good stuff) and then he just throws the car keys down on his desk. Philbert then picks up the car keys excitedly and smiling, goes outside to the rusted car, looks in, seats himself in the car seat, pedal to the metal, pumps it several times, revs up the engine and for unknown reasons the car starts up with no problem, he then seats back excitedly and yells out "YEE HOOO!!!", smiles, laughs and then takes off.

While his cruising around the rez he happens to stop and pick up his friend named Buddy Red Bow his best friend since the boarding school days at his work. While their riding along Buddy asks where he got his car from and Philbert tells him mentally in a Native American philosophy way smiling, "This is the War Pony", "These are the days when men possess nothing".

So buddy looks at him wondering, dumbfounded what he means by that so at this point it is useless to Buddy to ask him again. Then buddy asks him what his going to do later on (than Buddy lights up a marijuana joint at this time, tokes it and offers Philbert a drag but Philbert declines since his driving) so then he tells Philbert that he needs to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico to get his sister out of jail because some cop there framed her for having a pound of marijuana in the trunk of her car (awhile ago in the office where Buddy works at and before Philbert picked him up he got a phone call) Buddy told him that he got a phone call from the jail in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Buddy explained to Philbert what happened to her and how she got arrested. So upon hearing that, being surprised and concerned for Buddy's sister, Philbert volunteers to take Buddy to SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.

TO BE CONTINUED... if you rent or purchase the movie.