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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

“Neither Wolf Nor Dog’ returns to the Lantern

Dan Webster

You might have missed the documentary film "Neither Wolf Nor Dog" when it played last year at the Magic Lantern Theatre. If so, you're in luck because the Lantern is bringing the film back for a special one-night screening on Monday.

The movie was directed by Steven Lewis Simpson and adapted by screenwriter Kent Nerburn from his own 1996 novel. It will play at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are the standard $9 price.

The plot (from Rotten Tomatoes): "A white author is summoned by a Lakota Elder who asks him to write a book about his perspective. After a blundering false start, he is all but kidnapped and sucked into a road trip through the heart of the contemporary Native American landscape."

Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic had this to say about the film: "The film is quite strong when it comes to creating a sense of place; you feel like a visitor in the tiny kitchens and museums they step into (the movie was filmed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and small Rushville, Neb.)."

And L. Ken Wolgamott of the Lincoln (Neb.) Star wrote this: " 'Neither Wolf Nor Dog' transcends its budget to become one of the most insightful contemporary Native-based films I’ve seen."

Dogs, wolves and Native American elders. What's not to like?