Written and directed by Danis Goulet
Starring Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Brooklyn Letexier-Hart, Alex Tarrant
Unrated
Runtime: 101 minutes
Opens in select theaters November 12

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The dystopian Canadian sci-fi drama Night Raiders (executive produced by Taika Waititi) is distinguished by featuring a largely indigenous cast. Unfortunately, the film itself is very unexceptional. Modest in both scope and accomplishment, but ambitious in its reach, this story of a Niska (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) and her daughter Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart) trying to stay safe from exterior forces—surveillance drones, the police and the military—addresses themes of racism and colonialization. Alas, however important its messages, the film says nothing new or particularly profound.

The first act is moderately intense. Niska and Waseese are living off the grid when circumstances force them to head back to the city. They initially find shelter in an abandoned house, but trouble ensues, and they pay a call to Niska’s old friend Roberta (Amanda Plummer, flinty in a meaningless role). However, when the authorities close in, Niska makes the heartbreaking decision to give Waseese up; children are property of the State. The teen is sent to a military academy where she will be trained for combat but have the promise of a better life. (The film is an allegory for the residential school system in Canada that reeducated indigenous people.)

Night Raiders eventually shifts gears as Niska gets involved with rebel fighters Leo (Alex Tarrant), Ida (Gail Maurice), and Somonis (Violet Nelson), among others, who hope to defy the authorities and rescue kids like Waseese. Writer/director Danis Goulet nobly features Cree dialogue and moments such as a tribal council meeting that profile the film with some nice texture, but the academy scenes, where Waseese resists following the rules and ultimately fights back against another student, are pretty routine. 

Moreover, Goulet never builds enough suspense as Niska and Waseese try to reconnect. The story lumbers along featuring subplots that involve police and military actions designed to make obvious political statements about land rights. That the indigenous characters are all so altruistic paints them with too broad a brush. Moreover, the science fiction elements add little to the narrative. A sequence late in the film where Waseese uses some superpowers to control things is more risible than satisfying.

Night Raiders is admirable for tackling significant issues and through a feminist and Indigenous lens, and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Brooklyn Letexier-Hart are convincing in their scenes together. But although Goulet shows promise in her feature debut, this film is mostly uninvolving and underwhelming.