Doc. WITHOUT ARROWS-Life on Reservation after Years Is Long and without a Point

The well intentioned and oftentimes beautifully filmed doc. made for PBS "Independent Lens" focuses  Derwin Fiddler, Jr. and his family on the Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Derwin was a champion grass dancer living in Philadelphia before returning to his family's home after being away for more than a decade. Now  The thoughtful filmmaking feels unobtrusive initially. Without any narration or direct interviewing, the camera captures Derwin and his parents, brothers, nephews, nieces in their natural, uninhibited daily routines. We see them lounging in their untidy, overcrowded small home or outside working on the property, playing with each other, riding horses or sitting around a crackling fire. The doc. stays with the family for nearly 13 years. In this time, there are a few plaintive dialogues. Derwin's mother imparts to him his responsibilities to mentor the young on the reservation; many who are suicidal and implores him to impart the legacies of his tribe. Derwin's younger brother talks about their younger, troubled brother who killed himself at age 14 and the impact that made on the family. However, the duration of filming and complete absence of narration leads the documentary down a long, lonely road without a focal point. Derwin falls from the center leaving a gaping hole that is mostly filled by his mother, Shirley. Shirley shares old photos, ancient tribal relics and their family's history. Eventually, Derwin finds work as an exterminator to earn money. We watch him in his hazmat suit and spray can working which is dreary. The film has no urgency, overriding drama or conflict to impart. After a while, the artistic cinematography of horses, tempests stirring or smiling faces becomes banal. The invisible camera morphs into an intrusive voyeuristic lens that you want turned off. Perhaps, the shapeless documentary is meant to just meander but in so doing, it lacks emotion or purpose rendering itself dull.