Nice effects though.

Brilliant and touching

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Visually, it was okay. Editing was good. The main story I understood. It was about "Rain" having these nightmares about her mom's boarding school. A priest who put her mom in a mental facility, wants to do the same to Rain. Why? because of the atrocities priest & nuns did to Native kids at the school many years ago. I got lost & confused & had questions, many questions. What is Bradley Cooper doing in this film? Why did a Native kill a white government worker? Why?! Was Adam Beach a real police officer or just an idiot? He was accepted into the FBI academy but didn't know Law or how to investigate? Rain was in a car accident & John said she had a bump on her head. Where was it? My list of questions go on..., Georgina Lightning wrote, directed & starred in this. A feat in itself. I hear she won all these Indie awards. For what? My questions continue...,

So where do I start? I guess I should start by saying why I am reviewing this in the first place. As you may have noticed, there are some 10 star reviews which are obviously written by those whom have never watched a film before or they have just fallen asleep through most of it and dreamt what they missed...This film is in no way, at all, in any time, in any place or mind worth giving even a chance! I have never been so bored and never looked around to see the faces of confusion on how bad a film is...ever! Everyone who I watched this film with was just looking at each other as if to say "are we really watching this?" Sure enough, everyone I was watching this with in my home, on a DVD, decided to go to another room. Me being me, I decided to give it until the end just in case. Bad choice.Everything about this film is bad except for maybe some of the cast members. The Cop, his wife and a guy who is working for the government studying earthquakes are all good actors and so are a few others in this film but, the director completely fails them all making them all look completely fake and ridiculous.The plot behind this film is actually a good one of which is taken from true events. It could have been done with some of the same cast and have been done quite well if it wasn't for the director. It's got terrible lighting, awful camera angles, some unbelievable screen play which would not even be good enough for your worst soap opera and most of all an incredibly bad script.I don't write reviews often, in fact this is my first on IMDb but I couldn't not stress to everyone how deeply awful this is, just in case you may be stuck for a film to watch one night and decide to take a trip to the DVD rental store like I did. Thank God I only paid 2 dollars for this although it is not worth a cent!

The first time I've ever written a review, but I felt compelled to warn others. Not since I watched Werewolves versus Vikings have I seen a film so poorly written with a multitude of clichés and very questionable acting. The subject matter may be serious at heart but it is cosseted in a third rate ghost story with elements that are not only implausible but also insulting to the audience. It truly has failed as a film because it belittles the subject matter it was trying to highlight. I watched this on demand and it's the first time in a long time that I haven't been able to watch something right to the end. I assume that other reviewers have given it higher ratings out of respect for the background message of the film, but that really can't excuse or compensate for the fact that this simply is a poor film.

Older than America is an educational movie about Native Americans and their experiences while attending boarding schools. It also addresses the trauma and difficulties that they still suffer today. The main character, Rain (Georgina Lightning), is reliving her mother's experiences and trying to make sense out of them. **Spoiler**** The storyline involves a Catholic priest, Father Bartoli, who wants to stop Rain from learning about what really went on at the boarding school. Farther Bartoli convinces Rain's Auntie Apple to consent to shock treatments for Rain. These treatments were given also to Rain's mother and are the reason why Rain's mother is now basically a mute. Rain eventually breaks out of the institution with her memory of what happened in tact.Some of the Native Americans who were sent to boarding schools still suffer the consequences today. Many of the children who were sent off to boarding schools were taken away from their parents and never learned parenting skills. The children had no role modeling of parents at the boarding schools. The only parental figures were teachers, nuns, and priest. Numerous Native Americans who attended boarding schools suffer from alcoholism and depression that often lead to suicide. This became a vicious cycle for younger generations to view.**Spoiler** The main trickster is Rain because when it is least expected she surprises the audience with another escape or a joke. Because of Rain we can see what a culture shock the boarding schools still have on Native Americans and their families. Another trickster is Walter Many Lightnings who is actually a spirit. Walter unstraps Rains when she is in the institution and allows her to escape. However, earlier in the movie, he would watch her, and it scared her. Another trickster is Father Bartoli; he tricks Rain's Auntie Apple into believing Rain is a schizophrenic like Apple's sister, Rain's mother. Father Bartoli convinces Auntie Apple the only way to help Rain is to do the electroshock treatments. I would most definitely recommend this movie. I truly believe it is part of our history and should be included in all of our history books. This would be a great movie for all history classes to view. My daughter and I loved this movie and think it is one of the best movies we have seen in a very long time. However, we both view the Catholic Church in a much different way than before.