Following up on the enormous success of his first feature, Smoke Signals, Native American director Chris Eyre again focuses a sharp eye on the joys and sorrows of life on the “rez.” Skins, based on the novel by Adrian C. Louis, investigates the complex love-hate relationship that develops between two Sioux Indian brothers living in the shadow of Mount Rushmore on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Rudy Yellow Lodge (Schweig) is a reservation policeman who struggles to “clean up the public image of his people.” Mogie, the older brother he once idolized, is now a caustic drunk who flaunts the Indian stereotype Rudy abhors. Through biting humor and striking visuals, Eyre produces a rich portrait of racism and brotherhood, alcoholism and laughter in this tale of murder, betrayal, and ultimate redemption.