We meet Charlie Halliday, a young bush pilot, as he and his friends are spending a night of drinking and just having fun. Halliday, and his friends, are mean toward one Inuit man that comes to the tavern trying to sell them a little animal skin. Little prepares this young man for what happens to him the following day.
Director Charles Martin Smith does wonders in this movie. The action takes us all over the Canadian arctic tundra. The director, and his cinematographers, captured in all its glory this part of the vast country most of us will never see. This movie celebrates the human instinct of survival and deals with how Halliday, a man who clearly shows his disdain toward the Inuit, at the beginning of the film, has to depend on a young girl that shows him a thing or two about how to survive in that hostile climate.
Barry Pepper surprises us in the film in the way he portrays Halliday. We see the transformation, for the better, as he realizes how his salvation depends on Kanaalaq. Annabella Pingattuk, who plays the young Inuit girl is an asset in the film. James Cromwell is seen as Shepherd, the man in charge of the pilots.
"The Snow Walker" shows a lesson in acceptance, and endurance when all hope is lost by a person. Thanks to Charles Martin Smith and his collaborators for a satisfying film.
Plot summary
1953. Charlie Halliday, a former WWII fighter pilot, is a Yellowknife-based bush pilot. Like many of the white in the area, he does not associate with the Inuit except for what he can get out of them in bartering. On a personal plane trip, he runs across a small family of nomadic Inuit. The female of the group, named Kanaalaq, has what Charlie suspects is tuberculosis. In exchange for some ivory, Charlie agrees to fly her to a hospital in Yellowknife. En route back to the city, Charlie is forced to make a crash landing when the plane develops mechanical problems. Although both Charlie and Kanaalaq are unharmed by the crash, the plane is totaled, they are in the middle of nowhere, the radio doesn't seem to be working, they have a meager amount of supplies, and Charlie's whereabouts are probably unknown to others since he made a detour from his original route. Furthermore, they can't communicate with each other as Kanaalaq only knows a few words of English, whereas Charlie knows no Inuktituk. According to his map, Charlie estimates it is one hundred miles to the closest town and decides to walk. He soon learns that he is not well equipped for outdoor life in the north, at least not as well equipped as Kanaalaq, who is in her element. He figures that things can only get worse for both him dealing with the elements and Kanaalaq suffering from her illness as the winter snows approach.
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Lost!
Powerful & Gripping
The Snow Walker, following the Farley Mowat book 'Walk Well My Brother' introduces the characters Charlie Halliday, a self-absorbed pilot (played by Barry Pepper) and Kanaalaq, a quiet, resourceful Inuit girl (played by Annabella Piugattuk). The film is directed by Charles Martin Smith, the man who played the main character in Farley Mowat's 'Never Cry Wolf' which must have inspired him to translate this Mowat book into another film. The movie is exceptionally well made, especially considering its low 10 million CDN budget. The camera is well controlled, and the beautiful scenery is captured as well as in any film. Barry Pepper is, as always, a natural talent. He takes the arrogant Charlie on a journey not only of Canada's Northwest Territories, but of character development. Annabella Piugattuk is wonderful as the succinct Inuit girl. Despite language barriers, the two characters manage to communicate well enough, and their relationship blossoms in a fascinating way. You'll find this film exciting, and it is much more entertaining than you'd expect. My only wish was that the film's conclusion was extended; I wanted to see more. I look forward to both Charles Martin Smith and Barry Pepper's next efforts. 9/10
See this movie!
Every once and a while a movie comes along that is meant to be, in my humble opinion, seen. The Snow Walker is that movie.
The storyline is simple: a bush pilot is asked to bring a young sick Inuit girl to a Yellowknife hospital but the plane crashes in the Canadian tundra. As simple as that. What develops between the two characters is a bond that only two people trying to survive in that situation could experience.
Charles Martin Smith's direction is perfect. He gives both Barry Pepper and Annabella Piugattuk free rein in their performances that gives us the impression of improvisation. Their friendship enfolds slowly, as any friendship would, if you where with a stranger battling the tundra, which in this movie, is almost like a third character. As flat and as barren as the tundra may appear, it is shot in such a way that has your eye searching for detail as if you were looking at a painting.
The Snow Walker is an example of straightforward storytelling that proves the fact that less is sometimes more. There are no car chases, no gunfights and yet I found myself completely engrossed. I came upon this movie by chance when I read the review in a local newspaper that gave it 4 stars and yet I never saw a single trailer or advertisement for it.
What a shame that this great movie will not be seen by a larger audience.