The Canadian film Barbarian Invasions somehow managed to win Best Foreign Language Film in 2004. The Snow Walker came out the same year, but is primarily an English Language film. The native language spoken in the film is not sub-titled, but is translated by the characters, so I guess this film didn't qualify for the award. It is too bad, because I enjoyed The Snow Walker a great deal more than I did Barbarian Invasions. This film was Canada's best film for 2003.
Charlie Halliday (Barry Pepper) is a former World War II pilot. After returning from the war, he took work as a pilot for a corporation that requires a great deal of flying over the vast wilderness in Canada's great white north. The story takes us back to 1953, on Charlie's 32nd Birthday. Charlie gets permission from his boss Walter (James Cromwell) to conduct a short side trip after completing his primary mission, dropping supply drums at a location nearing the Arctic Circle. Charlie's side-trip was intended to give him an opportunity to trade rations for walrus ivory, but that trip never happened.
While unloading his supplies, Charlie was assisted by two Eskimos. After the gear is unloaded, they bring Charlie to a teepee, where an obviously sick woman has taken refuge from the cold. They trade Charlie two pieces of ivory to take the woman to a hospital in Yellowknife. Charlie reluctantly agrees. The woman is called Kanaalaq (Annabella Piugattuk). When Charlie's plane crashes, he is forced to try and find help in a vast wilderness that he is ill equipped to traverse. He ends up learning how to survive off the land from his sick passenger. The two develop an interesting relationship as the grow to learn about each other during their struggle for survival.
Director Charles Martin Smith created the screenplay for The Snow Walker from a novel written by Farley Mowat. The story is driven by the characters, who are forced to work together to survive. While some of the concepts were simplistic, they still teach valuable lessons about personal perceptions. The survival aspect of the story contains some interesting strategy that was fun to watch unfold. While you would imagine a pilot would have basic survival skills down, life in a frozen wasteland was probably not on the training schedule for a war-time pilot. The story unfolds slowly, with an ending that doesn't have a great climax, but does tie the concepts together nicely.
The story primarily relies on the performances of Pepper and Piugittuk to succeed. The two actors have great chemistry. While I believed that the story would turn toward intimacy, it ended up as a different chemistry that was more familial. The story also contained some native language that was translated through non-verbal communication as well as through the characters. The non-verbal aspects, especially Piugittuk's performance, were instructive. While Cromwell has a smaller part in this film, his limited performance was that of a consummate professional. He has a way of owning his scenes, which was true in this movie as in films past. The casting was solid.
The Snow Walker is a wholesome film for the entire family. The MPAA gave the film a PG rating. There was a scene that came close to brief nudity, but never showed anything more than an exposed back of a woman in the water. The film has one disturbing image, when a skeleton falls out of a crashed fighter jet, but the gore factor was minimal. The death issue was handled delicately, as was a second death scene that was implied but never shown. The language was unobjectionable for the most part. Overall, the film has some mild elements that are tied to the dramatic themes, but nothing that I would be concerned about if screening this film with a younger viewer. I would place a warning on this film for anyone that would be disturbed watching survival elements that include killing your own food, because this film is a survival story. I would not put an age restriction on this film.
The Snow Walker was a bit simplistic in terms of plot, but made up for it in dialogue and character development. Films that rely on strong characters generally require strong performances, which this film achieved. The acting was excellent. The scenery was breath-taking, the material covered efficiently and the story engaging. While this is not the first survival story, and won't be the last, it was an excellent period piece that was done right. I would highly recommend this film. 8/10.
Photos and trailer property of Infinity Media.
