Coming-of-age stories come in all shapes and sizes, but often they’re the same basic story over and over again. Where a character bursts into adulthood and finds out more about themselves and where life is taking them. But what if films took a different look at the coming-of-age formula? It isn’t about finding yourself sexually, or puberty, or any of that. Instead, it’s about finding out more about your roots, your family, and traditions. Maybe, those coming-of-age stories wouldn’t feel so tired and worn out.
Premiering at SXSW earlier this year, Frybread Face and Me is just one of those stories. It’s a not-so-predictable coming-of-age tale because it’s not a perspective we see portrayed often in media at all. Focusing on Benny, an eleven-year-old Native American boy, the movie follows him as he’s sent to stay with his Navajo grandmother on the reservation over the summer – when all he wants to do is see Fleetwood Mac in concert. The summer not only lets him reconnect with family he never met, but with portions of his family traditions, roots, and culture he had never experienced before. A summer with relatives who don’t even speak the same language as you do may not sound like a good time, but it’s a life-changing experience for Benny in many ways.
While his grandmother, aunts, and uncles play a large part in the story – no one else has as large of an influence on Benny as his cousin Dawn (Frybread Face). Their reluctant friendship forms over the summer and she helps him reconnect to what it’s like to live on the reservation and to be part Navajo. From working on the family land together, attending rodeos, helping their grandmother weave blankets, and more – the pair learn a lot from each other over the summer. The friendship feels genuine and the two young actors seem to be having a great time while doing the movie. The movie exudes innocence, friendship, love, and understanding – all while building up a bond between the characters that you can only imagine continues for years after.
Frybread Face and Me is a step back in time and into a different culture and lifestyle that most of us will never experience. It pays homage to the traditions of the Navajo people but through a (semi) modern lens. Benny finds that his temporary exile to the reservation isn’t as bad as he once thought, and he finds friendship and connection within the community and family he didn’t have much contact with in the past.
The pacing of the movie is a bit slow and methodical. But this doesn’t distract from the story. Instead, it feels similar to other Native American movies like Smoke Signals and seems to be a method of storytelling. It’s a departure from the fast-paced and CGI films we’re used to. Instead, Frybread Face and Me takes you to a slower pace of life and allows you to be enveloped in the story and characters as it goes. It’s simply, a pleasant movie with a genuine story that will make you smile.
Frybread Face and Me is currently streaming on Netflix and available on other networks.
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About Frybread Face and Me:
Frybread Face and Me follows two adolescent Navajo cousins from different worlds as they bond during a summer on their grandmother’s Arizona ranch, learning more about their family’s past and about themselves.
Produced by Chad Burris and executive produced by Taika Waititi, the film stars Kier Tallman, Charley Hogan, Martin Sensmeier, Kahara Hodges and Sarah Natani.