Frozen River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Frozen River |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Courtney Hunt |
| Produced by | Heather Rae Chip Hourihan |
| Written by | Courtney Hunt |
| Starring | Melissa Leo Misty Upham Charlie McDermott Michael O'Keefe Mark Boone Junior |
| Music by | Peter Golub Shahzad Ali Ismaily |
| Cinematography | Reed Morano |
| Editing by | Kate Willams |
| Studio | Cohen Media Group Harwood Hunt Productions Off Hollywood Pictures |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) | August 1, 2008 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English French Chinese Urdu |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Money made | $6 million |
Frozen River is a 2008 American crime drama movie. It was written and directed by Courtney Hunt. The story is about two women who are struggling financially. They start helping people cross the border from Canada into the United States without permission. The film was nominated for two Oscars. These nominations were for Best Actress (for Melissa Leo) and Best Original Screenplay (for Courtney Hunt).
Contents
About the Movie
The Story
The movie takes place just before Christmas in Upstate New York. This area is close to the Akwesasne St. Regis Mohawk Reservation and the border with Canada.
Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) works at a discount store. She is trying to raise her two sons. Her husband has disappeared with the money she saved to buy a new home. While looking for him, Ray meets Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham). Lila is a Mohawk woman who works at a bingo hall. She is driving Ray's husband's car. Lila says she found the car abandoned.
Both women are having a hard time with money. They decide to work together. They start helping people cross the frozen St. Lawrence River from Canada into the United States. They do this for $1,200 per person.
Ray's older son, T.J., wants to get a job to help his family. He wants them to be able to afford more food than just popcorn and Tang. He and his mom argue about whether he should stay in high school or drop out to work. T.J. also accidentally sets a part of their trailer on fire while trying to unfreeze a water pipe.
Lila wants to get her young son back. Her mother-in-law took him away after he was born.
The women use a route that goes between an Indian reservation in the US and an Indian reserve in Canada. They hope this will help them avoid being caught by the police.
Things get more difficult when they are asked to help a couple from Pakistan. Ray is worried about what might be in their bag. She leaves it behind in the cold. Later, she finds out the bag contained their baby! Lila insists the baby is gone, but then she helps revive the baby. After this scary experience, Lila says she doesn't want to help people cross the border anymore. But Ray needs just one more trip to get enough money for her new home. She convinces Lila to join her for one last journey.
They pick up two women from Asia. When the club owner tries to pay them less, Ray scares him with a gun. As Ray gets back into her car, the angry club owner shoots her. Shaken, Ray drives fast and erratically. This gets the attention of the police. Ray tries to escape by driving across the frozen river. But one of the car's wheels breaks through the ice. The four women leave the car and find safety on the Indian reservation.
The police want someone to be held responsible. The tribal leader decides that Lila must leave the community for five years. This is because of her past actions, which included her Mohawk husband's death. Ray is surprised and sad. Lila begs Ray to let her go free for the sake of her children. Ray starts to run through the woods, but then she changes her mind. Ray gives her share of the money to Lila. She tells Lila to take care of her sons and help buy the new mobile home. Ray and the people she was helping are given to the police. A police officer thinks Ray will have to go to jail for a few months. Ray calls her son T.J. to explain what happened.
Lila goes to her mother-in-law's home and gets her baby back. She and the baby show up at Ray's trailer while T.J. is still on the phone with his mom. In a later scene, T.J. finishes building a bicycle-powered carousel. His younger brother and Lila's baby are strapped into it. He pedals the carousel while Lila smiles. A truck arrives carrying the new mobile home.
Who's Who in the Movie
- Melissa Leo as Ray Eddy
- Misty Upham as Lila Littlewolf
- Charlie McDermott as Troy "T.J." Eddy, Jr.
- Michael O'Keefe as State Trooper Finnerty
- Mark Boone Junior as Jacques Bruno
- James Reilly as Ricky Eddy
- Dylan Carusona as Jimmy
- Jay Klaitz as Guy Versailles
- Michael Sky as Billy Three Rivers
- John Canoe as Bernie Littlewolf
Making the Movie
Screenwriter and director Courtney Hunt talked about the movie's main idea. She said that a mother's love for her children is something everyone understands, no matter their culture. She felt that having her own daughter made all her other goals less important. Hunt hoped her film would help people understand others better.
Hunt's husband is from Malone, New York. When they visited his family, they heard stories about Mohawk people helping others cross the frozen Saint Lawrence River. Hunt thought this would be an interesting movie idea. However, it was hard to find people to help pay for the film because not many knew about this issue.
She met cinematographer Marc Blandori and actress Melissa Leo at a film festival. Both agreed to join the project. This helped get some interest from investors. They first made a short film near Massena, New York. Hunt showed it at festivals until she got enough money for a full-length film. Frozen River was filmed in very cold weather in Clinton County and Beekmantown. It was also filmed near Plattsburgh over 24 days in March 2007.
Movie Release and Awards
The movie first showed at the Sundance Film Festival. It was also shown at several other film festivals. Sony Pictures Classics bought the rights to share the film in North America and other places. The movie earned over $5 million worldwide.
Frozen River won several awards. Melissa Leo won the Best Female Lead award at the 24th Independent Spirit Awards. The movie also won the Grand Jury Prize for Drama at the Sundance Film Festival. Courtney Hunt won Best Directorial Debut at the National Board of Review Awards 2008. The film was nominated for two Oscars: Best Actress for Melissa Leo and Best Original Screenplay for Courtney Hunt.
See also
In Spanish: Frozen River para niños
