I stumbled blindly upon this film, channel surfing one nite some years ago, and immediately found the next time it would air and recorded it for - what one might call - future posterity. GRAND AVENUE has made me cry, laugh, but mostly think. My sister and I are Native American on our mother's side. It is her birthday and I was trying to think of something special for her. As I write this, I am dubbing a copy for her. It is ironic that I moved to Santa Rosa 12 years ago, and since living here have found that many movies were filmed here or in this area. But one does not have to live here to appreciate what a great movie is all about. GRAND AVENUE (co-produced by Robert Redford)is a powerful, shocking, and enlightening look into the lives and culture of our country's real fore-fathers (and mothers/brothers/sisters}. I applaud HBO for courageously giving this incredible odyssey to us, but wonder why they have not shared it with us again in over 3 years. I could rave on, but there is only one way to experience GRAND AVENUE -- see it! And seeing will be believing, and realizing that the truth is not Walt Disney or even CNN. The truth is in our own backyards ... and in this masterpiece of cinema. [For the curious who ask "what's it like?" - it is reminiscent (in an Indian kind of way) to John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood.] If you're tired of sit-coms & fluff, fluff up your pillow and prepare yourself for something very, very special.
