agmtw logo
search
Rez Ball (2024)

Rez Ball (2024)

PG-13

netflix

Touching but predictable, this sports drama doubles as a welcome look into modern rez life

6.0

Movie

United States of America
English
Drama
2024
FEMALE DIRECTOR, SYDNEY FREELAND
Amber Midthunder, Cody Lightning, Dallas Goldtooth
113 min

TLDR

It just needed a bit more time to bake, but the film is sure to tug at the heartstrings.

What it's about

When the Chuska Warriors lose their star player in a tragic incident, the high school basketball team’s coach decides to train them in a more traditional way.

The take

In most instances, Rez Ball isn’t all that different from traditional sports dramas. It features a down-on-their-luck high school basketball team--the Chuska Warriros-- that gets better through sheer perseverance and teamwork. But as the title suggests, the Warriors play a slightly different kind of game. Rez Ball, according to the film, is faster and more points-focused. And the way the film lets the players (and us, the audience) learn about it by connecting the team with Navajo culture and practices is ingenious. As an intimate showcase of rez life, the film shines. But as a drama, it falters. The acting is rusty and uneven (though shoutout to Devin Sampson-Craig and first-timer Kauchani Bratt for getting it right), and the direction feels similarly wooden. The film is a promising entry, it just needs more time and polishing to be great.

What stands out

Coach Heather’s clever ways of teaching the team the Rez Ball ways.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

The Substance (2024)

Demi Moore swaps bodies in this standout chaotic body dysmorphia horror

8.0

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

His Three Daughters (2024)

Three sisters deal with life and death in this moving family portrait

8.9

Incendies (2011)

Part melodrama, part war thriller, Incendies is gorgeous and heartbreaking from the first scene

9.9

Wind River (2017)

Sicario's screenwriter directs this story of murder in an Indigenous reserve

9.4

A Silent Voice (2016)

A coming-of-age movie that circles around friendship and the atonement of a boy

8.7

Cold War (2018)

A quiet Polish masterpiece with ravishing music and dazzling visuals

9.2

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.