Bones of Crows

Bones of Crows

2023 · 122 min · ★ 6.8 · Drama, History

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.

Directed by Marie Clements · Written by Marie Clements

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Hulu

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 32m together

Bones of Crows

The Pianist

A close match in mood and era.

More from Marie ClementsSee all →

Lay Down Your HeartLay Down Your Heart · 2022
Lay Down Your Heart
10.02022
MovieDocumentary
An intimate look into the mind of Niall McNeil, an artist and performer with Down syndrome, and his unique chosen family. In Lay Down Your Heart, Niall introduces us to his many “family members,” his multiple “children,” his renowned “ex-wife” and director of the film Marie Clements, and other bonds forged through open-hearted creativity.
The Road ForwardThe Road Forward · 2017
The Road Forward
9.02017
MovieDocumentaryMusic
The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musical sequences describe how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, grew to become a successful voice for change across the country. Visually stunning, The Road Forward seamlessly connects past and present through superbly produced story-songs with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats.
Bones of CrowsBones of Crows · 2023
Bones of Crows
8.02023
SeriesDrama
Cree Matriarch Aline Spears survives Canada's residential school system to continue her family's generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. The story unfolds over one hundred years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.
Red SnowRed Snow · 2019
Red Snow
5.32019
MovieDrama
Red Snow is a dramatic adventure that begins when Dylan, a Gwich'in soldier from the Canadian Arctic, is caught in an ambush in Panjwayi, Afghanistan. His capture and interrogation by a Taliban Commander releases a cache of memories connected to the love and death of his Inuit cousin, Asana, and binds him closer to a Pashtun family as they escape across treacherous landscapes and through a blizzard that becomes their key to survival.
Unnatural & AccidentalUnnatural & Accidental · 2006
Unnatural & Accidental
4.42006
MovieDramaCrime
Rebecca has returned home to be with her dying father. His last wish is that she track down her mother, an aboriginal woman who has long been missing. As she turns over the stones that hide the debris of the unwanted and forgotten, she is drawn into the mysteries of ten missing native women whose spirits lead Rebecca to the killer who still haunts the alleys, streets and hotels of this urban wasteland.
Bella Ciao!Bella Ciao! · 2018
Bella Ciao!
2018
MovieDrama
Carmen Aguirre and Tony Nardi star in a remarkable story of friends, lovers, seekers and thieves. Set at the intersection of the Latin American, First Nations and Italian communities, "Bella Ciao!" captures a struggle towards solidarity in East Vancouver's urban mix.
Ballads Not Bullets: Tom JacksonBallads Not Bullets: Tom Jackson · 2014
Ballads Not Bullets: Tom Jackson
2014
Movie
This short film tells the story of how actor, singer, producer, and activist Tom Jackson came to use his gift of song to contribute millions of dollars to the fight against poverty and homelessness.

More Like This

The Tin DrumThe Tin Drum · 1979
The Tin Drum
7.01979
MovieDramaHistory
In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.
Ben-HurBen-Hur · 1959
Ben-Hur
7.91959
MovieHistoryDrama
In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.
Workers Leaving the Lumière FactoryWorkers Leaving the Lumière Factory · 1895
Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory
6.71895
MovieHistoryDocumentary
Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.
The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation · 1915
The Birth of a Nation
5.91915
MovieDramaHistory
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
Stalag 17Stalag 17 · 1953
Stalag 17
7.71953
MovieComedyDrama
After two American prisoners are killed by guards in the act of escaping from a German POW camp in World War II, barracks black marketeer J.J. Sefton is suspected of being an informer.
Soldier of OrangeSoldier of Orange · 1977
Soldier of Orange
7.11977
MovieDramaThriller
The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.
Life Is BeautifulLife Is Beautiful · 1997
Life Is Beautiful
8.41997
MovieComedyDrama
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
SissiSissi · 1955
Sissi
7.31955
MovieComedyDrama
The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.
Sissi: The Young EmpressSissi: The Young Empress · 1956
Sissi: The Young Empress
7.01956
MovieDramaComedy
Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.
Once Were WarriorsOnce Were Warriors · 1994
Once Were Warriors
7.41994
MovieDrama
In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.
DownfallDownfall · 2004
Downfall
7.92004
MovieDramaHistory
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
The Last SamuraiThe Last Samurai · 2003
The Last Samurai
7.62003
MovieDramaAction
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
The Marriage of Maria BraunThe Marriage of Maria Braun · 1979
The Marriage of Maria Braun
7.41979
MovieDrama
Maria marries a young soldier in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. She must rely on her beauty and ambition to navigate the difficult post-war years alone.
The PianistThe Pianist · 2002
The Pianist
8.42002
MovieDramaWar
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an EmpressSissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress · 1957
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress
7.11957
MovieRomanceDrama
After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.
The Last EmperorThe Last Emperor · 1987
The Last Emperor
7.61987
MovieDramaHistory
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter