The Education of Little Tree Movie Review 1997

Child's eye view of a large scale epic on par with modern classics like "The Secret Garden." In 1935, poor, orphaned, and part Native American Little Tree (Ashton) is sent to live with his grandfather (Cromwell) and Native American grandmother (Cardinal) in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. There he learns "The Way" of his Cherokee ancestors and how to make moonshine from his Scottish/Irish grandfather. A nosy, Bible-thumping Aunt tips off authorities and soon Little Tree is shipped off to an evil state institution to cure him of his inappropriate Indian ways. There, the old-fashioned discipline runs fierce and abusive. Adapted from a children's book by Forrest Carter. Cardinal and Cromwell carve out memorable performances alongside first-rate newcomer Joseph Ashton.

Distribution

Paramount Home Video, 5555 Melrose Ave., 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: (323)956-5000, URL: http://www.paramount.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 112 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Adoption & Orphans, Native America, Period Piece: 1930s, Coming of Age, Childhood Visions, Grandparents, Books to Film: Forrest Carter

Screenplay

Richard Friedenberg

Cast

James Cromwell, Tantoo Cardinal, Joseph Ashton, Graham Greene

Cinematography

Anastas Michos

Director

Richard Friedenberg

Music

Mark Isham

Producer

Paramount Pictures