Justifying an Evaluation - Movie Review Example

MOVIE REVIEW The Snow Walker YEAR OF ORGINAL RELEASE: 2004 DIRECTOR: Charles Martin Smith PLOT AND STRUCTURE: In 1953, in the Artic region, the pilot Charlie Halliday (Barry Pepper) is tasked to alter his flight plan and fly the local Inuit female native that is sick with a respiratory ailment Kanaalaq (Annabella Piugattuk) to a medical institution to be cured. Unfortunately, the plane encounters a severe malfunctioning and Charlie had no choice but to land the plane in an unfamiliar territory. Initially they hoped to get their way out of the wilderness by their own efforts but as time passed it seemed that their initiatives were leading them to nowhere, and they assumed that the search and rescue people already gave up in their efforts to locate them. With this in mind, both Charlie and Kanaalaq manage to trust and depend on each other, with Kanaalaq acting as the tutor of Charlie regarding the culture and lifestyles of her native land. Along the way, a special kind of bond and fondness to one another forms between the two as they try to survive in the wilderness. Based on structure, the movie can be distinguished into two specific components: the initial component of the movie introduces the main characters Charlie, the pilot, and the female Inuit native, Kanaalaq, as well as their innate attitudes and traits, and just as significantly, the emerging signs of the potential clash between the two characters. The second part portrays Kanaalaq’s efforts to combat her worsening respiratory disease with the help of Charlie as they get stranded over the wilderness, and eventually Charlie’s fantastic change of view over the world and how to pursue a beautiful, ordinary life upon her constant interaction with Kanaalaq. Bridging the two parts are situations where neither the people watching the movie nor the two main characters knows if what they feel for each other is authentic or baseless at all. THEMES: The film’s general theme has something to do with the moral value of an individual and how true friendship can be formed even among different races. Charlie as a pilot admitted to himself and to Kanaalaq to be inconsistent in his initiatives to issue respect to other people and especially not to other races, and when he became mature he basically carried over this mentality. Yet Kanaalaq reminds Charlie all the time that he was an individual worthy of admiration in spite of his failures and inconsistency in his life. The movie validates that all people regardless of your nationality deserve to be given utmost love and respect. SYMBOLISM: Majority of the movie’s symbolic imagery is focused on Charlie and Kanaalaq. The symbolism of the male and female character in this movie allows the audience to comprehend what happens within two persons stranded in a place and struggling for survival, when suffering from a terrible disease, and most significantly when teaming up to survive and developing feelings for each other. The lives of Charlie and Kanaalaq are the primary foundations or the framework of the movie, including their positive and negative qualities. CHARACTERIZATION AND PERFORMANCE: Barry Pepper was able to realistically integrate his character and expertise as an actor under Charlies persona which led in another excellent performance. Pepper had such a wonderful time doing the character of Charlie who was also battling his own demons. In addition, Pepper’s performance in portraying Charlie as a keen learner and student of Kanaalaq was very realistic. Annabella Piugattuk, meanwhile, was very strong and likeable as Kanaalaq. Even though the movie emphasized more on Charlie’s performance, it was her teachings and struggles to fight her disease, a woman with both love for Charlie and fear of her disease that established the movie into one of the best. Excellent support acting was given by James Cromwell and Kiersten Warren. CINEMATOGRAPHY AND VISUAL DESIGN: Charles Martin Smiths cinematography and visual designs in this film are fantastic. The movie opens with all nice and environmental hues, then the background slowly darkens as Charlie becomes invisible. The wilderness was also transformed into a bright-colored environment. The cinematography and visual designs provide the movie a dreamlike perspective, which is also appropriate for a movie portraying such a complex issue as friendship across different races. SOUND AND MUSIC: The sounds and music function properly in the movie. It efficiently puts into perspective the sincere moments of the movie and love, and more significantly gives drama for the intense moments.  For example, the opening hymns of the movie utilize a style which involves stirring instrumentals and strong tones.  These musical differences become obvious as the movie goes on to symbolize the struggles of both Charlie and Kanaalaq to survive.   DIRECTION AND EDITING: Director Charles Martin Smith performs a fantastic job in this movie. His choice to film most of the movie from the perspective of Charlie and Kanaalaq resulted into an excellent masterpiece. Because of the effective editing, the audiences are able to get the message on how Charlie and Kanaalaq goes about learning from each other and trying to survive while at the same time experiencing how they both view the setting and the situation that they are facing. Smiths selections make the conditions of both Charlie and Kanaalaq look more truthful. PERSONAL REACTION: This film absolutely is one of the best films of all time, at least for me. The various citations and awards that this film obtained was just a testament of how excellent this movie was done. But more importantly, this film motivates individuals, no matter what race you belong, to bounce back even from extreme obstacles and hardships. Also, as the theme illustrates, we may be different in terms of the color of our skin but still all of us deserve to be treated with utmost respect and appreciation. In this aspect, the Snow Walker was able to illustrate the capacity of movie as not simply a source of fun and thrill but also as a medium for learning. The film was made famous not simply by its modern movie effects but the sense of the movie script and the lessons and assertions of the story. Queries concerning the cultural and social aspect of the public truths were established in the movie almost attacking the traditional views of our existence. Because of this, The Snow Walker was praised for strongly studying and tackling the status of our real lives as we perceive it. The movie is strongly cultural and related to our daily lives in this regard as it left the public viewers wondering and thinking of the issues that were included in the story. REFERENCES Mowat, F, 2004. The Snow Walker. Stackpole Books; Revised edition Read More