The Snow Walker
by Charles Martin Smith
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DVD details
Actor: Annabella Piugattuk, Barry Pepper, James Cromwell, Jon Gries, Kiersten WarrenDirector: Charles Martin Smith
Brand: First Look Pictures
Producer: Barry Pepper
Writer: Charles Martin Smith
Producer: Christina Toy
Producer: Ellen Dinerman Little
Producer: John Houston
Producer: Michael Ohoven
Writer: Farley Mowat
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-31
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: First Look Pictures
DVD Reviews of The Snow Walker
DVD Review: WALK WELL, MY BROTHER...
Summary: 5 Stars
This wonderful film is based upon the short story, "Walk Well, My Brother", which appears in an anthology of short stories titled, "The Snow Walker", written by Canadian icon, Farley Mowat. The story takes place somewhere near the Artic in 1953 and opens with a shadowy figure traipsing slowly across a frozen wasteland. The film then flashes back to a time three months earlier in a settlement called "Yellow Knife", located somewhere in the Northwest Territories of Canada. A raucous sort of place, the viewer is introduced to a young and handsome, former World War II fighter pilot named Charles Halliday (Barry Pepper). He is a free living, arrogant, hot dogging young gun, who now flies over the frozen wastelands of the far north, working as a bush pilot for a man named Shepherd (James Cromwell).
While making a routine delivery in a desolate area, he is met by a small family of Inuit with a seemingly tubercular daughter (Annabella Piugattuk)) who clearly needs medical attention. They request that Johnny take her to the hospital in Yellow Knife but Johnny refuses to do so. When they bribe him with some valuable ivory tusks, he has a change of heart, taking the young woman on board. Unfortunately, the small aircraft experiences technical difficulties, and they crash in the frozen tundra, a couple of hundred miles from civilization, but are physically relatively unhurt by the crash.
Thinking that he would do better on his own, Charlie divests himself of the young woman, leaving her with some supplies but believing that he is consigning her to her death. He is a young man with little respect for the Inuit people. He simply does not see the value in their culture, which he does not understand, and marches off into the bleak wilderness on his own. He, who is a whiz with machinery, has little knowledge on how to survive in that bleak but beautiful wasteland. Consequently, by the time he is about a week into his trek through this unforgiving tundra, he is overcome by nature and the vicissitudes of this harsh and alien environment. Fortunately for him, the young woman he left behind is far more resourceful than he is. She catches up with him, finding him on the brink of death, and nurses him back to life, becoming the key to his survival.
It is only after all this happens that he bothers to learn that she is called Kanaalaq. Slowly, he learns to connect with this young woman in a way that he has never connected with anyone. He learns to appreciate her, discovering that she is beautiful both inside and out. Through his relationship with Kanaalaq, whom he begins to regard as a little sister, he learns how to love another human being, becoming reborn as a better person in the process. He also learns to connect to the land and, in doing so, finds the strength to survive his ordeal. Kanaalaq ends up giving Charlie Halliday the gift of life.
What happens to Charlie and Kanaalaq, how they manage, and how their relationship develops is at the heart of this film. It is the story of two cultures that come together and seamlessly mesh in order to survive out on the frozen tundra. It is an intensely moving and deeply personal film that is simply beautiful. With a minimum of dialogue, this film sends out a major message.
Barry Pepper is terrific in the role of Charlie Halliday, a flawed human being who manages to overcome his shortcomings and become all the better for his ordeal. He infuses the character with a certain charisma, so that when his shortcomings become apparent, the viewer does not dislike him but, rather, hopes that he will see the error of his ways and find redemption. Newcomer Annabella Piugattuk is simply sensational, giving a well-nuanced and very touching performance in the role of the dying Inuit girl, Kanaalaq. Her role is central to the film, and she is a breakout star. They searched for six months, until they found her, having auditioned hundreds of young women in the process, as they were looking for someone indigenous to the area to fill the female lead. The casting director discovered her at a local teen dance in the Northwest Territories, and what a find she is.
This Canadian production was the recipient of numerous Genie nominations, which are the Canadian equivalent of Academy Award nominations, and are conferred by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. I have to say that, in recent years, I have been mightily impressed with the originality, quality, and sophistication of Canadian films. They are sometimes simply the best films to be found. This one is no exception. Deftly directed by Charles Martin Smith, who is also an actor, he fully understands the concept that less is oftentimes more and exacts powerful performances from the entire cast. Moreover, he perfectly captures the majesty, beauty, and sheer bleakness of the landscape that acts as the backdrop for this beautiful story. Bravo!
Description of The Snow Walker
When the plane carrying Charlie Halliday, a maverick bush pilot and a sick, young, Inuit woman, Kanaalaq, crashes hundreds of miles from civilization, they are at the mercy of nature?s worst. While search parties try to find the downed plane Charlie decides to trek over land, promising the woman that he will return with help. Despite her weakened condition, she follows Charlie and nurses him back to health when insects, cold and starvation threaten to kill him shortly after he leaves. Kanaalaq teaches him the skills he will need to survive and he comes to respect her wisdom and love her valiant spirit as they each set out into the wilderness. Each will find a startling and solitary destiny in the beautiful and stark tundra. An adventure story that will move and inspire you as it touches your heart.Bestsellers in DVD
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