A Native American boxer faces personal challenges as he comes to terms with his heritage while fighing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic boxing team...
Black Cloud (Eddie Spears), a young Navajo man, must take a journey of personal growth to prepare himself for a chance at boxing in the Olympics. When Eddie returns to town with the rodeo and wants to rekindle his relationship with Black Cloud's girlfriend, Sammi, Black Cloud confronts him and runs into trouble with the sheriff after beating up Eddie who is Sammi's ex-boyfriend and the father of her child, as well as the Sheriff's nephew.
After seeing Black Cloud in a boxing match, an Olympic Scout named Norm Olsen (Peter Greene) offers him a tryout for the U.S. Olympic team. Initially Black Cloud rejects the offer believing that it would be just to 'fight for the White Man'. In trying to apply for Indian Housing he and Sammi find out that his great-grandfather was from Germany; believing he is cursed by his diluted bloodline Black Cloud has a falling out with Sammi. He goes to see his Grandfather who takes him into the canyons and tells him about his family and the German man who helped his great-grandmother after she was raped by a several white men and went by the name White Wolf. Realizing that his bloodline is pure he decides to come back to Sammi and proposes to her. He gets back into training for the Golden Gloves tournament coming up and decides to take up the scout's offer if he wins.
The day before the tournament his best friend is seriously injured in a fight with Eddie and a set of other cowboys which the Sheriff refuses to arrest. On the day of the tournament, Black Cloud goes through it to the finals where he meets Rocket Ray Tracy, the number one ranked Light Heavyweight fighter who is hoping on going pro after the tournament.
These films contain examples of:
- After-Action Patch-Up: Sammi does this to Cloud after his fight with Eddie.
- Badass Boast: Induced. When the Sheriff goes to arrest Black Cloud for beating up his nephew Eddie he mentions that he was beaten with a bat. Cloud says he did no such thing with a bat and lifts his fists up instead.
- Berserk Button: Black Cloud is short tempered so quite a few things tick him off. Anything involving Sammi however like pushing her or insulting her gurantees you'll be scared to death by him or have the ever living shit beaten out of you.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Jimmy is portrayed as being happy-go-lucky and good natured. When Eddie's crew gangs up on Black Cloud in the bathroom though, Jimmy does not hesitate to kick their asses.
- Broken Tears: During a practice with Bud, Cloud finally breaks down.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Cloud and Sammi respectively.
- Covers Always Lie: At least in the most recent DVD cover. Although Black Cloud is the main character, of the four characters displayed he is pushed all the way to the back. Tim Mc Graw and Ricky Schroder occupy more of the cover than the protagonist.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: At some point Jimmy breaks a pool cue on the back of one of the guys Eddie recruited to beat up Black Cloud.
- Determinator: Black Cloud in the the fight with Rocket Ray Tracey.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After Cloud discovers he has white blood in him, he spirals into self destructive behavior. Among other things he takes to drinking.
- Drunk Driver: Bud's son dies as the result of an accident involving a drunk driver.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Sheriff Cliff Powers. He definitely isn't evil, but he could have arrested Black Cloud for drinking and driving on the way back to the reservation. He chose not to do so.
- Game Face: Complete with a simulated and surprisingly well executed animal roar.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: An extremely mild case of it but in essence what occurs after Cloud discovers his great grandfather was a white man.
- Heartbroken Badass: Black Cloud when Sammi breaks up with him.
- Heroic BSoD: A good portion of the movie revolves around Black Cloud coping with one of these.
- How Much More Can He Take?: Black Cloud in his fight against Rocket.
- Manly Tears: Bud and Cloud share these.
- Mr. Fanservice: The monatage where Cloud is training has some particularly exquisite scenes of him shirtless, sweaty and in some interesting workout positions.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Yes, beat up the Sheriff's nephew. Surely there won't be any consequences.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: At the very begining of the film between Eddie and Black Cloud.
- Pet the Dog: Sheriff Cliff Powers not arresting or harming Black Cloud while he is a lone and drunk.
- Rape as Drama: Cloud's great grandmother was raped. In the aftermath of the ordeal, White Wolf saw her and watched over her as she returned to her village. They had a family together.
- Scary Black Man: Rocket Ray Tracy comes off as this. It's mostly fueled by his ego, though.
- Shirtless Scene: One at the very beginning when Cloud arrives home and retreats to his room and another one while he is working out at the gym preparing for the fight against Rocket.
- Spirit World: While fighting Rocket, Black Cloud gets knocked out. Bud had mentioned earlier that there comes a moment in a match where the fighter enters the spirit world and doesn't even realise it. Sure enough this happens to Cloud and it is while he is in the spirit world that he is able to see his mother's face again.
- Surprise Pregnancy: Implied. Apparently the last time Sammi and Eddie went out for a drink she had Tyler.
- The Alcoholic: Jack, Black Cloud's father is always drunk on screen.
- Quit Your Whining: Grandpa and Bud deliver a couple of these speeches to Cloud.
- White Man's Burden: Subverted in that Norm (the talent scout) proposes Black Cloud enter Olympic level boxing because of how freaking good he is. It's not done out of sympathy.
