CROOKED ARROWS

CROOKED ARROWS is an entertaining sports drama about a losing lacrosse team at an American Indian high school in New York. It has a strong moral worldview promoting ethical monotheism, but there are also a couple false religious concepts, brief foul language and some suggestive dialogue.

The story follows Joe Logan, a half Native American man who manages a small Indian casino located on his tribe’s property. His boss, a Caucasian developer, wants to take over a massive amount of more land from the tribe and turn it into a mega entertainment property. He tells Joe to “say whatever it takes” to get the deal done.

Joe goes to his father, who distrusts him for abandoning his childhood beliefs in Indian culture and spirituality. Joe’s father says he must honor the Creator’s game of lacrosse and undergo a “spirit quest” to prove he’s trustworthy to get the deal done. Joe reluctantly agrees to coach the high school’s losing lacrosse team. Apparently, Joe was a lacrosse star in high school, but he played for his tribe’s rival, a white prep school with a very successful lacrosse tradition.

Lacrosse is presented as a sacred Native American sport, designed to help the Indians “please the Creator.” At first, Joe has trouble relating to the disorganized players on the team. However, as he gets closer to his Native American heritage, he becomes a better coach and a better man. Also, the team starts winning some games.

CROOKED ARROWS tells a story that’s timeworn to an extent. However, the fact that it’s set against the unique sport of lacrosse makes it seem more fresh, interesting and entertaining. The dynamic sports scenes are fun to watch. Also, the twists and turns of this unusual sport add a couple of surprises to the storyline. The dialogue is also entertaining, the performances appealing, and the direction by veteran helmer Steve Rash keeps things moving at a zippy pace.

The movie has a PG-13 rating coming from one hard-to-hear “f” word and some suggestive content (see our CONTENT section for details). Viewers also need to be very cautious that the movie portrays some pagan spirituality, including the animistic idea that people have an animal spirit inside them that connects them to nature. This content is portrayed positively in a couple scenes. Also, the game of Lacrosse was extremely violent and called “the little brother of war” since it was used to train warriors for battle.

However, throughout the movie, there are overt references to the Creator God. For instance, dialogue repeatedly says that watching His people play lacrosse gives the Creator pleasure. Also, in his final pep talk at halftime, the coach tells the lacrosse players to forget about the score and honor God with their playing in the crucial championship game. Thus, in general, CROOKED ARROWS honors God and promotes ethical monotheism.