The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw dir. by Shelley Niro (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw dir. by Shelley Niro Renae Watchman (bio) The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw directed by Shelley Niro levelFILM, 2019 and Indican Pictures, 2021 SHELLEY NIRO (member of the Six Nations Reserve, Turtle Clan, Bay of Quinte Mohawks) cowrote and directed her second feature film, The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw, released in 2019. The film is bookended by an aerial shot of the universe, centering Mother Earth. It opens with voiceover narration in an unnamed Indigenous language. As the language dissolves into song, the camera focuses on Mother Earth, whose stunning beauty from space zooms in on the Maple Leaf Garden of High Park in Tkaronto. The lyrics "There's beauty above you, there's beauty below; beauty surrounds you" are originally from the Diné/Navajo Beauty Way Prayer and adapted and performed by ElizaBeth Hill (Mohawk from Six Nations) for her song "You've Got the Power." Standing in the Maple Leaf Garden on her twenty-fifth birthday is the protagonist, Mitzi Bearclaw, played by MorningStar Angeline (Navajo, Chippewa Cree, Blackfoot, Shoshone, and Latinx). Bearclaw's October birthday events include a stroll through the urban landscape, window shopping, handing out sandwiches and homemade hats on behalf of the "Indian Friendship Centre," and off-camera clubbing/dancing with her boyfriend, the aspiring scholar and amateur photographer Ringo Leaves-No-Shadow (played by Vance Banzo, Anihšināpē and nêhiyaw from Fishing Lake First Nation). Mitzi tells Ringo that her dream is to make "crazy, wacky, out of this world hats; hats that are going to save the world." The next day, she receives an acceptance letter from the design program at George Brant College as well as a birthday card and letter of urgency to return home from her dad. Mitzi makes a difficult decision to forego her dreams to fulfill her familial and community responsibilities on the fictional First Nation community of Owl Island. Spanning a year, The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw is tragicomic, harmonizing the trauma and dysfunction of the aftermath of residential schools and lateral violence with NdN humor, love, and a nod toward flourishing Indigenous futures. Depictions of remote island-rez life, where traditional bush life intersects with contemporary conveniences, are beautifully staged. The talented cast depict sadness, melancholy, and toxic behaviors [End Page 162] while also expanding their range to include heartwarming moments of resilience, humor, and healing. Mitzi's hometown love interest is Honeyboy Yellowdog, played by Ajuawak Kapashesit (Anishinaabe and Cree). Their relationship blossoms amid the difficult realities of Mitzi's home life. Niro employs scenes of enchantment, fantasy, science fiction, and wonderment with an Indigenous flair. The actors Billy Merasty (Cree), Gail Maurice (Métis), and Andrew Martin (Mohawk from Six Nations) do double duty as they depict multiple characters with diverse arcs. Merasty plays William Bearclaw and "Hope" (of the Christian theological virtues). William is Mitzi's father and a humble hunter whose paternal and spousal love is boundless despite the daily verbal and emotional abuse he endures from his wife. The scenes where "Hope" and the two other virtues appear are either in the enchanted forest on the island or on a spaceship, out in the galaxy overlooking earth. Maurice plays Mitzi's mother, Annabelle Bearclaw and "Faith." Her earthly character is a "miserable and hateful" bedridden diabetic, while "Faith" is a healer/nurse. Martin plays Charlie B., Mitzi's orphaned cousin and "Charity." Charlie B. is a writer and storyteller, and as "Charity," he is also a mute and harmless trickster. Their alter egos as otherworldly virtues are clearly diametrically opposed to their human characters. The dreamscape/magical realist or sci-fi scenes typically follow a triggering or traumatic event: after Misty reluctantly returns home, after Annabelle welcomes Mitzi with a hateful and belittling tirade, after getting punched in the eye by the jealous femme fatale Simone Muskrat (played by Roseanne Supernault, Métis and Cree), and when Charlie B. collapses and is rushed to the emergency room and later dies. The death of Charlie B., who was like a brother to Mitzi, facilitates the restoration of the relationship between Mitzi and her mom. Mitzi...