Children will like ‘Little Tree’ tale> film based on controversial book

“The Education of Little Tree.” Written and directed by Richard Friedenberg. Based on the novel by Forrest Carter. Running time: 117 minutes. Rated PG (for mild language and a brief scene of violence).

Twelve years ago, Forrest Carter’s “The Education of Little Tree” rocked the publishing world when certain ugly and damning truths were revealed about its author, who was not the part-American Indian he’d sworn himself to be, but, of all things, a white supremacist named Asa Carter with political ties to the Ku Klux Klan and to George Wallace.

Initially presented as an autobiography, Carter’s book was — at first — a publisher’s dream. Upon publication, it became an immediate best seller, spending 19 weeks on The New York Times’ nonfiction list before moving across the page to the fiction list, where it continued its best-selling status — albeit in the lingering gray haze of scandal.

It has been alleged in some circles that the late Carter wrote “Little Tree” as a sort of atonement for his racist past. Whether or not that is true, the book moved thousands — as should the film.

Set in 1935, the film follows Little Tree (Joseph Ashton), an 8-year-old part-Cherokee boy who recently lost his parents. After successfully escaping a life with his prim aunt, he goes into the wilds with his Cherokee grandmother and white grandfather (Tantoo Cardinal and James Cromwell), who, along with their shaman friend Willow John (Graham Green), teach him how to live in harmony with nature while also lecturing him in traditional Cherokee culture.

Little Tree learns reading and arithmetic from his grandmother; the art of moonshining and killing rattlesnakes from his grandfather. His education is one rich with simplicity and love — which, in this sentimental film, means that it must come to an end.

In the heart of fall, just as the trees are turning, so too does Little Tree’s life. When the local authorities discover the family’s moonshining still, the state welfare department is alerted — and Little Tree is taken from his grandparents to the Notched Gap Indian School, where he receives an education of a much different sort.

Stripped of his Indian name, forbidden to speak his native language and forced to assimilate or suffer the wrath of a strict principal and his staff, Little Tree doesn’t so much get a literal education as he gets a healthy dose of the white man’s prejudices, condescension and discipline.

“The Education of Little Tree” is a sweet film that means well in spite of several unexplained holes in its script and a rushed, pat ending that won’t be revealed here, but which compromises what came before it. It is a film that will appeal particularly to children, who will delight in the lush, rolling landscapes of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains and in Little Tree himself, who is played convincingly by 11-year-old Ashton.

Grade: B

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“Kiss the Girls.” Directed by Gary Fleder. Written by David Klass, based on the novel by James Patterson. Running time: 117 minutes. Rated R (for graphic violence and language).

“Kiss the Girls,” the surprisingly intelligent adaptation of James Patterson’s ridiculous best-selling potboiler (read the first chapter for a good laugh), may owe its soul to “Silence of the Lambs” and to “Se7en,” but its cruel heart beats with an energy all its own.

Fueled by a strong cast, an atmosphere thick with tension and a cunning psychopath wreaking havoc in North Carolina, “Kiss the Girls” features Morgan Freeman as Dr. Alex Cross, a police psychologist whose niece, a gifted violinist, has been abducted by a madman who calls himself Casanova. When a local doctor, Kate Mctiernan (Ashley Judd), is kidnapped by the same man, she soon finds herself in a subterranean warren of cells — where a hive of other women, including Cross’ niece, are being held captive — and drugged — and raped.

To reveal more would be to ruin the film’s many twists and sudden turns. To suggest that this review has intentionally misled you would be unthinkable. To see this one alone would be a regrettable mistake.

Grade: B+

Christopher Smith, a writer and critic who lives in Brewer, reviews films each Monday in the NEWS.