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Film Reviews

 

"Native cartoonist Everett Soop may have been slowed down by muscular dystrophy, but his wit is still biting and his outlook on his life is droll in the extreme. Sandy Greer has made a delightful film about an amiable grouch..."
John Allemang, The Globe and Mail, September 30, 1998

"...[Everett Soop illustrates] a mature spiritual consciousness, one that is capable of confronting injustice, of speaking for the disenfranchised, and of loving his mother... and trying to forgive his father, who abandoned him when he was very young. He also is a lover of classical music, and speaks as well of his love for the earth and for animals and plants. He is able to face his own impending death with humor and dignity... All of this speaks of a great soul in Everett, ...and who has never stopped trying to understand life and to help his people. His words again and again reach to a very deep level in us and his life becomes an inspiration for our own, even if the conditions in which we live are very different."
Tom Yeomans, Psychosynthesis Community News, Vol. 3, No. 2, Fall 1998

"...an example of heartfelt and important filmmaking... Soop on Wheels is set against the bleak landscape of the Canadian prairies and the desolate isolation of Soop's political perspective. Greer's filmmaking touches this stark sense of realism in a telling and delicate way and exposes the inherent alienation of satire. The film lends to the understanding of a brilliant and complex man whose life work resonates with honesty and inspiration."
Heather Rae, Native American programmer, Sundance Film Festival 2000

"...The pen is mightier than the sword. In the case of Soop on Wheels, the pen is a sharp political cartoonist's pen wielded by Everett Soop (Blackfoot)... Such utter frankness earned him an honored spot among Canada's media, as well as a lifetime achievement award last July from the U.S.-based Native American Journalists Association... Noted Cree actress Tantoo Cardinal narrates this inspiring video. Soop on Wheels is a profile in courage of a journalist who has overcome a disability one sketch at a time."
David Claudio Iglesias (Kuna), Native Peoples, January 2000, USA

"Everett Soop has given his life, his energy, toward making this world a better place," wrote his friend, actor Tantoo Cardinal. "He is an essayist, a philosopher, an artist, a cartoonist, an activist and a warrior in the greatest sense of the word."
Tantoo Cardinal quoted in First Nations Messenger article by Harmony Rice, Jan./Feb. 2001

Everett Soop's final battle with muscular dystrophy ended in August 2001.