Dances with Wolves

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

A sweeping, Costner-directed epic that won seven Oscars and dominated year-end critics' lists, though its warm reception always carried a current of unease about whose story it really is — a white soldier's romantic immersion in Sioux life, told by a white filmmaker. The film's use of the Lakota language was celebrated as a breakthrough, but Native critics pointed out linguistic errors and questioned whether good intentions can substitute for authentic authorship.