Little Big Man

Part of the special series SCHINKEN

Based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Berger, LITTLE BIG MAN tells the life story of Jack Crabb, a 121-year-old man who looks back on his adventurous past in the Wild West. As a child, Jack is adopted by the Cheyenne after an Indian raid and grows up as a ‘Little Big Man’ in their tribe. He later returns to white society, but experiences betrayal, alcoholism and various changes of identity - including being a sharpshooter, gunslinger and travelling preacher.

Over the decades, Jack witnesses key events in US history, in particular the oppression of indigenous peoples. He survives the Battle of Little Bighorn and the Washita Massacre. Again and again, he shuttles between the world of the Cheyenne and the white settlers. The events in his life reflect the violence and upheavals of the pioneer era. The film ends with Jack, who survived the destruction of the indigenous culture and looks back as a lonely chronicler.