Reservation Dogs, review of the Disney + series by Taika Waititi
Reservation Dogs
Did you think you had enough of the reserve executioners? Obviously not and in fact today we return to talk about Reservation Dogs, the Star Original TV series, broadcast on Disney Plus starting from 13 October and ended last 24 November. We had already had the opportunity to preview the first four episodes, of which we have told you on this page, but having now an overview of the entire first season of Reservation Dogs, we will talk to you again about this comedy with a bit raw traits. and bitters.Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year The series was announced in 2019 by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) who, together with Native American director Sterlin Harjo, has given life to a dynamic and unfiltered TV series: a young and somewhat ironic series that, however, deals with serious and worthy issues. Initially distributed via FX and Hulu exclusively in the United States, Reservation Dogs is the first series that places the characteristics of a Native American community in the spotlight, with the distinction of being written and performed by director and actors belonging to this cultural category. Eight episodes of about 30 minutes each that will entertain you episode after episode, not even making you notice the passage of time.
California Dreaming…
The entire season of Reservation Dogs takes place in the Native American community residing on a reservation in Oklahoma and follows the stories of four young protagonists: Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Elora (Devery Jacobs), Cheese (Lane Factor) and Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), after the loss of Daniel, fifth member of the Reservation Dogs gang, find themselves having to face the difficulties of life within their community.Street fights with other gangs, vandalism and petty crimes will alternate with moments of personal awareness and social problems, all to reach a single purpose, that is to raise money and everything necessary to be able to bring at the end of the dream of leaving for California, a dream that belonged to their dear friend who passed away and for which they will fight hard with many difficulties. At the same time, our four Rez-Dogs will find themselves guarding and bringing some justice to the neighborhood, taking care of their fellow citizens and their Native American origins and cultural traditions.
To decorate the plot of Reservation Dogs, we also find numerous impacting secondary characters who, thanks to their particular characteristics, will act as perfect shoulders to our protagonists, thickening the situations that are narrated and providing the plot with a dynamic and juicy, impregnated with information that is always very clear even if not narrated in the smallest details.
Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year
Between origins and background
In Reservation Dogs there are several elements that make the TV series work: as already anticipated in the first part of the review, much of the credit goes to the protagonists who, however young, are able to convey emotions and a sense of unity, of belonging to a community hitherto eclipsed and never deepened in a product for the great or the small screen.The harmony present between the young actors contributes to the excellent final result of the TV series, in which the dramatic moments alternating with the comic or action ones mark a dynamic rhythm and a young imprint on the product, just as the raw, scurrilous and, in some cases, even too foul language prevails the theme of finding oneself living today, between technology and evolution, in a community that has ancient origins and too little depth.
Each event within Reservation Dogs has a very specific purpose, that is to enrich the background of the protagonists, in order to make the spectator become attached to the character in which he sees himself more, managing to stir the souls of those even more rigid spectators. This enrichment of information, as well as in the first half of the TV series, prevails more in the last four episodes which aim to deepen, episode after episode, the lives of the four protagonists, between drama and goliardia. In the second half of the season, in fact, each episode is mostly dedicated to a different protagonist, digging into their past and their personal and relational situations, intersecting both the relationship that is created between them and that with the other characters of the series.
Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year
Why Reservation Dogs works
In addition to the features listed in the previous paragraph, there are several reasons that give validity to the series, some more technical than others: if we first faced the interpretative and emotional side, now we can move on to a slightly more technical side, in which the presence of Taika Waititi is felt and seen in an overbearing way.As anticipated above, the dialogues and languages of Reservation Dogs are dirty, raw and rough to represent a society almost in disarray. The heavy but real themes take on greater significance thanks to an excellent narrative writing that makes the sequences shown clear and impactful.
The photography and the scenography are also excellent: the clear changes of scene make it possible to bring the viewer's attention back to the story told without ever losing the thread of the discourse that one is trying to express and trying to intersect the ancient Native American traditions to the modernity of the era in which the events of Reservation Dogs take place. The contrast between the comedy and the drama of the series is also brilliant: purely amusing and light moments alternate with heartbreaking sequences or with a strong emotionality.
The soundtracks of Reservation Dogs also help a lot to identify with the events: the music used blend perfectly with the scenes represented, also creating some nice curtains, such as in the fifth episode, with a detective background , featuring a recurring soundtrack throughout the episode, which recalls the iconic soundtrack of the famous Beverly Hills Cop. with Eddie Murphy.
Subscribe now to Disney + for € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year
The originality of Reservation Dogs
Speaking of the concept behind Reservation Dogs, however, we cannot not to mention the originality of having brought the theme of life in the reserves inhabited by Native Americans into the spotlight as opposed to the modernity of the historical period in which the events take place.In fact, thanks to Reservation Dogs, it is the first time that Native American stories are told in a television entertainment product, as if the director flanked by Waititi wanted to tell the world that “Hey, you know that there are still places inhabited by Native Americans? ". And in fact, a product like this was missing from all points of view, so we can only praise even the intention of having addressed a topic that, until now, had almost never been given the right weight.
