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War Pony

War Pony

Drama · 2023

The interlocking stories of two Lakota boys growing up on Pine Ridge Reservation. At 23, Bill just wants to make something of himself. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a man. Bound by their shared search for belonging, each of the boys grapple with identity, family, and loss, as they navigate their unique paths to manhood.

Movie details

War Pony

2023 Drama 1h 54m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.8 / 10

3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

69 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

70 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

The interlocking stories of two Lakota boys growing up on Pine Ridge Reservation. At 23, Bill just wants to make something of himself. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a man. Bound by their shared search for belonging, each of the boys grapple with identity, family, and loss, as they navigate their unique paths to manhood.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over War Pony?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Gina Gammell · Riley Keough

Written by

Franklin Sioux Bob · Gina Gammell · Bill Reddy · Riley Keough

Jojo Bapteise Whiting

Jojo Bapteise Whiting

Bill

LaDainian Crazy Thunder

LaDainian Crazy Thunder

Matho

Robert Stover

Robert Stover

Colton

Ashley Shelton

Ashley Shelton

Allison

I

Iona Red Bear

Auntie

T

Ta-Yamni Long Black Cat

Donny

W

Wilma Colhof

Mama

Court is in session

Put War Pony on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.