Feature2023·122m·6.8

Bones of Crows

DramaHistory

Cree matriarch Aline Spears survives a childhood in Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. She uses her uncanny ability to understand and translate codes into working for a special division of the Canadian Air Force as a Cree code talker in World War II. The story unfolds over 100 years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.

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Cast

Grace Dove

Aline Spears

Phillip Forest Lewitski

Adam Whallach

Rémy Girard

Father Jacobs

Karine Vanasse

Sister Ruth

Alyssa Wapanatâhk

Perseverance Spears

Michelle Thrush

January Spears

Glen Gould

Matthew Spears

Gail Maurice

Older Taylor Whallach

Carla-Rae

Older Aline Spears

Cara Gee

Percy Whallach

Jonathan Whitesell

Thomas Miller

Patrick Garrow

Archbishop Thomas Miller

Summer Testawich

Young Aline Spears

Sierra Rose McRae

Young Perseverance Spears

Ethan Evans

Preteen Johnnie

Payne Merasty

Young Tye Spears

Alanis Obomsawin

TRC Film Director

Joshua Odjick

Jake Whallach

Paulina Alexis

Immpy

Conner Alook-Oar

Askuwheteau

Details

Status: Released
Original language: English
Languages: French, English
Budget: $19.0M
Revenue: —
Age rating: —
Quality: 4K UHD · HDR10 · Dolby Vision
Production: Screen Siren PicturesGrana ProductionsMarie Clements MediaAyasew Ooskana Pictures

Crew

Director

Marie Clements

Writers

Marie Clements

Vince Arvidson

Director of Photography

Wayne Lavallee

Original Music Composer

Jesse Zubot

Original Music Composer

Carmen Thompson

Costume Design

Maxime Lahaie

Editor

James Philpott

Production Design

Gallery

Reviews

ALIbambam

7/17/2025

7.0

Writer, Producer and Director Marie Clements' complex and fast-paced movie Bones of Crows has captured the complex effects of Canadian residential schools' legacy of abuse through the voice of Aline Spears (Grace Dove), a Cree woman forced to endure sexual, physical and emotional abuse at a Canadian Roman Catholic run residential school. What sets this story apart from others is the complex telling through PTSD flashes that weave not only her story but the stories of three generations in her family whose voices represent eras of nuanced racism culminating in child death cover-ups, suicide and lateral violence, to become redemptive when Aline's lawyer daughter heads the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and brings her mother face to face with her abusers. Brilliant and heart wrenching -- a must see if one wants to truly understand the impact of generational trauma inflicted on the lives of First Nation peoples.