MOVIE REVIEW : ‘BROKEN RAINBOW’ OF THE NAVAJO, HOPI TRIBES

In 1974, Congress ordered the relocation of more than 10,000 Navajos who had been living on Arizona’s Hopi Reservation for generations, ostensibly to settle a longstanding territorial dispute between the two Indian nations. The deadline for the relocation is July 7.

In their heart-wrenching, consciousness-raising Oscar-nominated documentary “Broken Rainbow,” film makers Maria Florio and Victoria Mudd reveal the devastating effect of the relocation upon the Navajos, who feel a sacred attachment to the land. They also claim that the relocation is but a ploy to facilitate further energy development, for the area is rich in various mineral resources.

This present crisis, involving a last-ditch resistance to relocation, also serves as a point of departure for a succinct recounting of the whole sorry saga of the white man’s ceaselessly cruel, greedy and ignorant treatment of the red man and his culture and environment. With all the other problems besetting the world, “Broken Rainbow” is valuable as a reminder of a tragedy unfolding within our own borders; as decimated as their numbers continue to be, the story of Native Americans didn’t end with the fading of the Old West.

Yet “Broken Rainbow” is at once less--and more--than this reminder. Florio and Mudd tell us that the Navajo and the traditional Hopi have been living in harmony, even in economic interdependence for years. To put it bluntly, the film makers might well have served their cause more effectively by sacrificing a couple of sadly similar interviews with old Navajo women, brushing tears from their worn faces, and talking to a couple of not-so-traditional Hopis (whom they dismiss as merely pawns of the energy corporations) to get their views on the relocation.

They also should have nailed down key government and energy industry officials--or at the very least told us whether they tried to do so. They briefly interview Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.), who comes across as incredibly insensitive to the the plight of the Navajos. In short, Florio and Mudd should have had more confidence in the cause for which they argue so eloquently but with such needless one-sidedness.

What finally tips the balance so decidedly in the film makers’ favor is the inescapable, sobering implications of the fate of the Hopis and the Navajos for us all in regard to the pollution of the environment and dangerous destruction of the ecology. The long-range effects of this, “Broken Rainbow” suggests, could stretch far beyond reservation boundaries. It’s time to start listening to ancient Native American beliefs about living in harmony with nature--if it’s not already too late.

Starting today, “Broken Rainbow” (Times-rated: Mature) screens at the Los Feliz at 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays through March 23.

‘BROKEN RAINBOW’

An Earthworks presentation. Writers-producers-editors Maria Florio, Victoria Mudd. Director Mudd. Camera Michael Anderson, Fred Elmes, Joan Weidman, Tony St. John, Baird Bryant, Mudd. Music Laura Nyro. Associate producers Roslyn Dauber, Tommie Smith. Production consultant Ali MacGraw. Narrator Martin Sheen. Historical voices Burgess Meredith. Translator Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Times-rated: Mature.