The Snow Walker | Barry Pepper, Annabella Piugattuk

The Snow Walker | Barry Pepper, Annabella Piugattuk | Breath Taking, Inspiring Story Of Survival In The Alaskan Wilderness, Directed By The Star Of "Never Cry Wolf"

DVDs:

The Snow Walker

	The Snow Walker Barry Pepper, Annabella Piugattuk First Look Pictures, 2005 average customer review:based on 48 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

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.

for more information click here

A Gem of a Movie

This movie was a wonderful, refreshing surprise for us! Post-Traumatic Stress, primitive culture versus "civilized" culture, what are we all about, anyway? - all dealt with in an often humorous, endearing tale set realistically in the tundra with all its monotony of scene and hoards of insects. Goes well with Never Cry Wolf, both from books by Farley Mowatt.

Breath Taking, Inspiring Story Of Survival In The Alaskan Wilderness, Directed By The Star Of "Never Cry Wolf"

After adding a film about Native Americans to my shopping cart, "The Snow Walker" frequently showed up as a recommended movie for me to purchase. I finally took a look at the description, but was hesitant to buy it (it was not available here in Helena for rent) as it did not sound like it really was about Native Americans, based upon the description and reviews. None-the-less, I decided to buy the film based upon the praise for it, and I am so very glad that I did. Let me state for the record, that if I had understood that the story was an adaptation of another book by Farley Mowat, author of book for which the film "Never Cry Wolf" was based upon, I would have been much quicker to purchase this movie.

Barry Pepper, as Charlie Halliday, gives a very powerful and endearing performance; with one exception. While the language of his character's bigotry was included--but clearly diluted for the film--Barry Pepper's personality (and performance, perhaps) just did not fit the role. That is, Pepper just did not act like a hard core bigot that the role called for. As such, his "transformation" in the film was less powerful than I suspect was the case in the book. Regardless of the potency of Charlie Halliday's bigotry, Barry Pepper excelled in portraying the character's other traits. "New comer" Annabella Piugattuk, as Kanaalaq, the Native woman that Halliday interacts with (and learns to become a "Snow Walker" from), is absolutely perfect in her performance--I hope we will see more of her in the future.

As for being categorized as a "Native American" film, "The Snow Walker" is not about Native Americans; it is about two individuals from two different cultures, whose lives become interdependent by circumstances of life. Through Barry's character, we learn a little bit about the type of person who "runs away to the bush" with minimal survival skills. Through Annabelle's character we learn a little bit about an Inuit woman who is trying "to live through" a disease for which her body has limited inherited immunity to protect her from it. The movie is about a man's tenacity to survive the "wilderness" after surviving World War II; about his ego and ultimate surrender of that ego to survive. It is about a woman steeped in understanding life in the "wilderness," having lived there her entire life; about her reticence and ultimate decision to share her knowledge and skills to survive. To a lesser degree, the film is a metaphor for Native-Non Native culture interactions, and what potential could be had if both could "surrender" and learn.

The primary drawback (like that for "Never Cry Wolf") to "The Snow Walker," from my perspective, is that the topic is one that has limited appeal for viewers. And unlike "Never Cry Wolf" that appealed to (and was essentially promoted to) children, "The Snow Walker" is geared towards an adult audience, and relies much more upon characters and drama. To that end, "The Snow Walker" is wonderfully brilliant. Like so many Canadian films, "The Snow Walker" deserves greater world wide recognition.

If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.

for more information click here

it snuck up on me

This film is a beautiful touching story, showing off the artic over the course of the story, and a different (not simplier) way of life.
I was shocked at how the film got me to care for the characters, and snuck up on me with emotional impact.

A Transformation from Selfishness to Selflessness

What does it take for a selfish, arrogant man to feel
unconditional love? This film is adapted from one of the many stories contained within the Snow Walker book.

This movie follows along the journey of a man who is ripped away from his American way of life to that of a nomad traveling through harsh Greenland. He fights to stay alive, he learns to live off the land, and through his interactions with an ill native he learns that his selfishness is actually harming him, not helping him, to find the joy and sense of family that his soul yearns for (even though he isn't consciously aware of that fact)

This beautiful film will open your heart, inspire you to connect you with nature, and encourage you to express more compassion towards others and yourself.

for more information click here

A bit too melancholy.

An ex-WWII pilot meets an Eskimo woman and befriends her. She helps him exorcise the demons from the war and teaches him to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. This is a story of brotherly love rather then romantic love. The scenery is not spectacular, but they do show the Aurora Borealis and some nice shots of the moon.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

products you might be interested in