Home Of The Brave
'Christmas In Clouds' cheerfully debunks Native American stereotypes

In these politically correct times, we're accustomed to seeing Native Americans portrayed onscreen as the noble warriors of old, or hardluck contemporary denizens of the res coping with poverty, alcohol, and despair. But filmmaker Kate Montgomery sets out to change all that with Christmas In The Clouds, a screwball romantic comedy of true love and mistaken identities set at a ski resort in tribal mountain land. With its all-Native cast in a variety of romantic, comic, and character roles, this stereotype-busting film cheerfully debunks the perception of Native people as suffering, sorrowing victims.

The story is narrated by the tribe's retired Chief, Joe Clouds on Fire (Sam Vlahos), an irascible old prankster addicted to Bingo, scooting around the back roads in his broken-down pickup truck, and writing flirty letters to his pen pal, a widow he's never met. Joe's prodigal son, Ray (Tim Vahle) has recently returned to tribal lands after a "big-shot" corporate job and a "big-shot" marriage, both of which went bust.

Ray manages the tribe's ski resort in a breathtaking western mountain range. (The film was shot on Robert Redford's Sundance property in Utah.) Learning that a prestigious travel guidebook is sending a critic incognito to the resort during the holiday season, Ray tries to rev his staff up to speed—from a housekeeping staff who insist on bringing their kids to work during the school holiday, to a randy handyman (Jonathan Joss) with a roving eye for ski bunnies. Joe's correspondent, the surprisingly young and beautiful widow, Tina Little Hawk (Mariana Tosca) also arrives incognito. (She checks in under her Italian married name.) While everyone mistakes poised, gracious Tina for the travel guide critic, Tina mistakes handsome and attentive Ray for her pen pal, and the usual complications ensue.

It looks like standard screwball farce on paper, but the charm is in the telling. It takes a while for Montgomery's droll comic tone to hit its stride, but early cutesiness gives way to drier situational humor as the characters are established. Screen veteran M. Emmet Walsh is both poignant and blustery as a cranky, boozing resort guest staggering from one comic disaster to another. Graham Greene is hilarious as the Paris-trained resort chef, Earl, a vegetarian who subverts Ray's demand that he cook meat by telling the dinner guests the former pet names of their entrees—including a buffalo who "had an onscreen role in Dances With Wolves," as Earl deadpans. "We called him 'Kevin.'" (Pretty funny coming from the actor who played the Sioux chief in Costner's film.)

Montgomery spoofs pop culture images of Indians, from Saturday morning cartoons to the lurid romance novel that makes the rounds of the staff. Its cover art of a half-naked savage and a submissive, flouncy woman leads to a brief fantasy sequence (featuring real-life romance novel cover boy Steve Sandalis), and a sly comic payoff in the film's finale.

There are missteps here and there. When two characters go missing in a snowstorm, it's never established where or how they've hidden themselves. And the resort is awfully plush for an operation supposedly struggling for tourist recognition. Still, easygoing Vahle and simmeringly lovely Tosca make an appealing pair of romantic leads, and the lively supporting cast keeps things humming along. And Bay Area filmmaker Montgomery is putting her money where her heart is, releasing the film one community at a time, and donating all California box office revenue to the state's most fiscally challenged school programs. It adds a dash of social responsibility to this likeable, warm-hearted comedy of errors.

CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOUDS With Tim Vahle, Mariana Tosca, Sam Vlahos, M. Emmet Walsh, and Graham Greene. Written and directed by Kate Montgomery. Rated PG. 97 minutes. (***)

Review published in Good Times, November 3, 2005