Title: Last Stand of the Sacred Man
Genre: Historical Drama / War Epic / Supernatural Western
Logline:
In the shadow of Manifest Destiny, two visionary menโSitting Bull, the mystic warrior chief played by Trevor Carpenter, and General George Armstrong Custer, a volatile and glory-hungry officer played by Joe Jukicโcollide in a final confrontation at Little Bighorn. But in this retelling, destiny is shaped not just by blood and battle, but by dreams, spirits, and the land itself.
TREATMENT
ACT ONE: DREAMS AND OMENS
Opening Scene:
The film opens in a sweeping dreamscape. Sitting Bull (Trevor Carpenter), eyes closed in trance, walks across a burning prairie. A white buffalo appears and speaks in Lakota: โThe wasichu will come for your heart. But the land remembers.โ He wakes, breathless.
Meanwhile, General Custer (Joe Jukic) gives a rousing, theatrical speech to his men in a military tent lit by lanterns and American flags. “We will ride into legend!” he declares, believing his destiny is to become President through conquest.
Custer is charismatic but reckless. He ignores intelligence reports, mocks diplomacy, and fantasizes about a final battle that will make him immortal in the pages of history.
Sitting Bull, the spiritual leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota, seeks peace but prepares for war. He holds sacred pipe ceremonies and teaches the young warriors to fight with honor, not hatred. He is haunted by visions of horses drowning in blood and stars falling from the sky.
Key Themes:
Prophecy, colonialism, and two different kinds of leadershipโone rooted in humility and sacred law, the other in ambition and ego.
ACT TWO: TWO WORLDS COLLIDE
Custer pushes deeper into Lakota territory, defying orders and treaty lines. He brings a film crew to document his “heroic” campaignโpropaganda for the Eastern papers. His strategy is not just militaryโit is theatrical, political, performative.
Sitting Bull gathers a council of tribes. Crazy Horse, Gall, and other warriors come. Some want to attack immediately. Sitting Bull argues, โWe must let the thunder come to us. The spirits say they will blind the Blue Coats when the moon is swallowed.โ
A subplot emerges: two young scoutsโone Lakota, one a half-Croatian interpreter raised by the Crowโbecome friends despite being on opposing sides. Their bond reflects the tragedy of two worlds torn apart.
Sitting Bull performs a legendary Sun Dance, piercing his flesh and praying for a vision. He sees soldiers falling like grass before a storm. The people see this as a sign: Custer must be stopped.
General Custer is warned: โYou are not fighting menโyou are fighting ghosts, ancestors, and the land itself.โ He laughs it off. โI have 7th Cavalry. God and destiny ride with me.โ
ACT THREE: THE LAST STAND
The Battle of the Little Bighorn is not just warโitโs opera.
Custer splits his forces, underestimating the size and unity of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.
As battle erupts, Custer charges recklessly into the valley. Thunder cracks. Dust rises. Arrows and bullets fly. Itโs chaos.
Trevor Carpenterโs Sitting Bull watches from a hill. He does not fight. He prays. He weeps. โLet their fire die here, so our children may live.โ
Joe Jukicโs Custer becomes increasingly unhinged, screaming at the heavens as his men fall. His last moments are hallucinatoryโhe sees Sitting Bull in the distance, calm, watching. He charges at the vision but is struck down. In his final breath, he sees the white buffalo from Sitting Bullโs dream.
EPILOGUE: SPIRITS AND STORIES
Sitting Bull walks the battlefield in silence. He finds the body of Custer and places a feather on his chest. โYou came seeking glory. You found truth.โ
Years later, Sitting Bull joins Buffalo Billโs Wild West show. He is older, weary. He sees American children cheer Custer’s memory, not knowing the truth. He whispers to one: โHe died brave. But not wise.โ
The final scene mirrors the beginning. Sitting Bull walks the burning prairie again. The white buffalo says: โOne day, they will know who you were.โ
Cut to black.
Tone & Style:
Think The Revenant meets Apocalypto with the lyrical mysticism of The Last Temptation of Christ and the brutality of Saving Private Ryan. The score blends Native drumming with dissonant strings. Dialogues mix English and Lakota with subtitles. Battle scenes are immersive, the violence real, but the spirit world constantly bleeding through.
Cast:
- Trevor Carpenter as Sitting Bull โ a quiet storm of wisdom, faith, and grief.
- Joe Jukic as General Custer โ a brilliant but delusional narcissist chasing immortality.
- Supporting roles: Crazy Horse, Gall, Buffalo Bill, and the young bi-cultural scouts.
Final Message:
โYou can kill a man. You cannot kill a prophecy.โ