Bones of Crows

6.8
20232h 2m

Cree matriarch Aline Spears survives a childhood in Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. She uses her uncanny ability to understand and translate codes into working for a special division of the Canadian Air Force as a Cree code talker in World War II. The story unfolds over 100 years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.

Trailers & Videos

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Trailer

Cast

Photo of Grace Dove

Grace Dove

Aline Spears

Photo of Rémy Girard

Rémy Girard

Father Jacobs

Photo of Karine Vanasse

Karine Vanasse

Sister Ruth

Photo of Alyssa Wapanatâhk

Alyssa Wapanatâhk

Perseverance Spears

Photo of Michelle Thrush

Michelle Thrush

January Spears

Photo of Glen Gould

Glen Gould

Matthew Spears

Photo of Gail Maurice

Gail Maurice

Older Taylor Whallach

Photo of Cara Gee

Cara Gee

Percy Whallach

Photo of Jonathan Whitesell

Jonathan Whitesell

Thomas Miller

Photo of Patrick Garrow

Patrick Garrow

Archbishop Thomas Miller

Photo of Summer Testawich

Summer Testawich

Young Aline Spears

Photo of Alanis Obomsawin

Alanis Obomsawin

TRC Film Director

Photo of Joshua Odjick

Joshua Odjick

Jake Whallach

Photo of Shannon Baker

Shannon Baker

Sally Whallach

Photo of Linden Banks

Linden Banks

Father Walters

Photo of Tim Beckmann

Tim Beckmann

Dr. Douglas

Photo of Harrison Coe

Harrison Coe

Father Claude

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Reviews

A

ALIbambam

Writer, Producer and Director Marie Clements' complex and fast-paced movie Bones of Crows has captured the complex effects of Canadian residential schools' legacy of abuse through the voice of Aline Spears (Grace Dove), a Cree woman forced to endure sexual, physical and emotional abuse at a Canadian Roman Catholic run residential school. What sets this story apart from others is the complex telling through PTSD flashes that weave not only her story but the stories of three generations in her family whose voices represent eras of nuanced racism culminating in child death cover-ups, suicide and lateral violence, to become redemptive when Aline's lawyer daughter heads the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and brings her mother face to face with her abusers. Brilliant and heart wrenching -- a must see if one wants to truly understand the impact of generational trauma inflicted on the lives of First Nation peoples.

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