CFUV @ VFF: Mekko

Sterlin Harjo’s Mekko is an indelible and powerful story of what happens when the missing return. Told without sentiment or pulled punches, it is Rod Rondeaux’s command performance as the title character that is a triumph to behold. With some parts sweet and playful, and others rough and desperate, Rondeaux’s layers of characterization makes Mekko a number of true stories all at once. Revisiting themes from his 2014 documentary This May Be the last Time, Harjo evocatively weaves Muscogee hymns and parables into an explosive tale of regret and redemption that cuts to the heart of contemporary indigenous masculinity. Mekko is the best of the festival by far.

-Troy Sebastian