Skins (2002) - Synopsis
In the shadow of Mt. Rushmore, one of America's favorite tourist attractions, lies one of her poorest counties, The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. For Police officer Rudy Yellow Lodge, the painful legacy of Indian existence is brought home every night as he locks up drunk and disorderly Indians, which frequently includes his own alcoholic brother, Mogie.
Rudy has always looked up to Mogie, A former football star and Rudy's childhood hero, but the brothers have undergone a role reversal, and now it's Rudy who is the strong one, the survivor. And though Mogie would like to be able to care for his 17-year old son, Herbie, he's regularly drunk and in trouble with the law, making him a persistent source of embarrassment to his younger brother. Rudy's frustration with the alcoholism on the 'rez' leads him to take the law into his own hands, but his trail of vengeance ends tragically when he unwittingly injures Mogie.
Ironically, their relationship achieves redemption after Rudy's tragic error in judgment, and the brothers begin the process of mending their fractured relationship. Ultimately, Rudy is able to honor his big brother, as well as his people, with one exhilarating and life-affirming act of defiance, revealing the redemptive power of the love between the two brothers.
