Well acted and super realistic movie.

The movie's pace was slow but I believe that was intentional and worked well. The story unfolded smoothly. The director excelled, and the acting suited the film perfectly. I highly recommend it.

A lot of times human interest stories are boring. This was strong on performances & realistic dialogue. In 2023 the Chinese just walk across the border in great numbers & get all the benefits our veterans don't get. Maybe an update movie needs to be made.

Upon a frozen river lies an uncertain path This is one of those rare indie movies that depicts poverty from a certain angle It exists everywhere but in some ways is worse for people Director Courtney Hunt with Melissa Leo and Misty Upham Ray Eddy is abandoned by her husband and she’s virtually broke, she must find a way to make some money After running into a Mohawk woman she stumbles into the business of smuggling people across the border from Canada It’s good money but how long before Ray sees it’s just plain wrong? One of the women even makes a statement there’s no border in this business more like free trade between nations This movie presents itself as an honest portrayal of dark trials in motherhood A very human tale about desperation while also facing the barriers emotional and criminal Even the American dream can push us-rich and poor alike The film works thanks to Leo’s performance and the sheer coldness of the environment she’s been forced into making icy decisions serving a rich character study This shows that a mother will go above and beyond the law to save her children even if it’s a dirty money maker

A low budget film that kept my interest, but the stupidity of the writing brought it down. Saw it on HBO.

Wow. Frozen River is riveting, hard core reality, thanks to the stunning, tightly controlled performance of Melissa Leo. And her co-star, Missy Upham, turns in one of the best performances of her tragically short career. Leo is Ray, a single mom raising five year old and a 15 year-old sons. They live in upstate New York, near the Quebec border and the Mohawk reservation. Ray works at a dollar store and barely keeps food on the table in her dilapidated trailer, thanks to an ex husband who gambled away their scant savings---including the down payment money for a new double wide trailer. He then ran off, leaving his wife and kids to fend for themselves in the sub-zero winter. When Lila (Upton), a young native American woman with her own troubles, tries to steal Ray's car, Ray catches her and they start an uneasy relationship. It turns out that Lila is involved in smuggling illegals across a frozen river into the U.S. Every shipment of two passengers in the trunk of a car pays $1,200. She tricks Ray into driving the first two illegals, but desperate for cash, Ray agrees to do it again, and again. It all sounds very gloomy and depressing. But it's so well scripted and acted, we really come to care about these two women and their kids. Leo and Upham are perfect together. A lesser script would have over-dramatized their relationship with "bonding" and mutual empathy, but for these two, it's all business. Lila keeps reminding Ray that she's white, so the Highway Patrol isn't likely to stop her. Their verbal exchanges are terse and dispassionate, but they do share one thing: the need to escape poverty. Both of them want to get out of the smuggling business, but Ray needs one last run to come up with the down payment on her double wide. The last run, however, goes badly wrong. The ending is bittersweet, but the humanity of this film is strong. It's actually humbling. Filmmaker Courtney Hunt controls the mood, the setting, and the action with a sure hand. Frozen River is far better than most of the high budget, contrived Hollywood trash we're subjected to nowadays. It's another gem to add to my list of great indie films.

This two time Oscar Nominee shows someone who did belong in a place with a fantastic screenplay and lead performance

It was a powerful little movie. At first didn't seem like much was going on but it made me gasp once and kept me interested to see what was going to happen next. Loved Troy kid.

It's simplistic, slower moving just like an ordinary day. Yet it's anything but ordinary. True to life and yet an experience most will never have. I've taped it and watched it over and over. The young actors are just as great as the seasoned actors.

Really slow, with unsympathetic characters, and no reason to care too much

Powerful probably the biggest surprise I've ever had.

Brilliant acting by Melissa Leo in this never saccharine story of an indomitable woman. Interesting and true to life from beginning to end!

A gritty, moving, daring, excellent movie.

For a really low budget indie, this is surprisingly well made. The video cinematography is a bit rough, but fits the story ok. Without Melissa Leo, this film would probably have fallen apart. She really gives a strong performance.

Subtle, understated... takes you to another world. Great movie.

cinegeek.de Our Daily Free Stream: Frozen river. Das Spiel zwischen Melissa Leo und Misty Upham wirkt so intensiv, dass es keiner offenkundigen Signale mehr bedarf, um die Beziehung beider zu verdeutlichen. Frozen River, ein Glücksfall des Schauspieler-Kinos! Leo verkörpert Ray Eddy, deren Ehemann sie verlassen hat und nach Atlantic City verschwand. Ein Spieler, der seine Frau und Kinder ohne Geld zurückliess. Ray Eddy arbeitet nur halbtags und muss sich und ihre Kinder bis zum nächsten Zahltag mit Popcorn versorgen. Upham spielt Lila Littlejohn, eine Mohawk, die in der Bingo Spielhalle arbeitet. Beide Frauen treffen aufeinander, weil Lila das verlassene Auto von Ray Eddys Mann findet und es in Besitz nimmt. "That's my car.", findet sie. Ein Schmuggler soll ihr 2000 Dollar dafür geben. An der Grenze zu den Vereinigten Staaten finden sich beide Frauen im Schmugglergeschäft wieder auf der Eisdecke eines gefrorenen Flusses. Ihre Geschäfte sind widerlich, manchmal transportieren sie Chinesen oder Pakistanis im Gepäckraum. Der Debütfilm von Courtney Hunt kommt sehr konzentriert daher und verliert sich nie in der Versuchung, einen Thriller aus dem Plot zu machen. Hunts Film handelt vom ökonomischen Überlebenskampf. Er kennt seine Intention ganz genau und ist sich der Bedeutung seiner Geschichte gewiss. Ray Eddy ist eine wahre Heldin, die das Angebot ihres Sohnes, die Schule zu verlassen, um Geld zu verdienen, zurückweist. Sie bittet verzweifelt um eine volle Stelle in ihrem Laden. Nie kam es ihr zuvor in den Sinn, Menschen zu schmuggeln, doch das Geschäft wird gut bezahlt. Für die "Kunden" im Gepäckraum hegt sie keine Gefühle. Ihr Son T.J. beobachtet sie und weiss um die Wahrheit: Der Vater hat sie verlassen, es gibt kein Geld für Essen, schliesslich ist er verantwortlich für seinen kleinen Bruder. Das Leben von Lila ist traurig. Die Schwiegermutter nahm Lila ihr Baby und nun sitzt sie nachts draussen vor dem Haus, um ein Blick von ihrem Kind zu erhaschen. Beide Frauen verbinden finanzielle Bedürfnisse! Es bedarf keiner Unterhaltung darüber, ein moralisches Gerüst oder Gefühle liegen hinter ihnen. Die Frauen scheinen gleichgültig und kalt, doch wir kennen ihre wahren Beweggründe. Frozen River bietet aber nicht bloss soziales Elend. Eine erschreckende Schönheit wohnt den Trips der Frauen über das Eis inne. Das Mohawk Reservat auf der amerikanischen Seite ist wie eine Art Schutzzone für Schmuggler. Frozen River, ein Film über zwei Leben in absoluter Notlage, über zwei Frauen, die bereit sind, das Notwendige zu tun. Wir sehen keinen Schmuggler-Krimi, sondern ein Drama, in dem eine Familie Popcorn als Mittagessen akzeptieren muss. mehr auf cinegeek.de

I liked the film. I'm always a little skeptical about these indie films, but I remember Melissa Leo getting a lot of accolades and she was truly worthy of them. The movie was surprisingly interesting -- dealing with a Native American woman who in her "spare" time, smuggled people illegally from the Canadian border and thru the reservation. Great performance by Melissa Leo and Misty Upham (may she rest in peace) was OK as well. Very real, gritty at times and also sad at times.

A solid little drama.

At first I was thinking that this was yet another movie about a person struggling to support her family. The harsh climate reflects her situation yadayada. I almost turned it off but the whole smuggling angle really peaked my interest. Really good movie. Kinda predicable though.

This movie is right on the edge of "love" territory, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give it four stars. This is a film style I really like. It's kind of low-key, indie crime, almost noirish, like Brick or The Lookout. It's the kind of movie that isn't gonna win a ton of Oscars (I was actually surprised to learn that this was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Actress, though both deserve it). It's just a small story that feels all the more realistic because of how small it is. First of all, there's Melissa Leo, who I haven't seen in anything until now, but she's wonderful. I'm really into characters/actresses like Ray/Leo, because they're not huge performances that are super into theatrics and dramatics. I wouldn't normally expect the Oscars to nominate actresses like this, because the Academy is usually into big transformations or historical depictions, but between Melissa Leo in 2014 and Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night this year, it seems like they recognize them sometimes. Anyways, Ray is a great character, very understated, and you can sense that she's just desperately trying to keep everything together. There are cathartic scenes, though, too, like the marvelous one when she and TJ (played by Charlie McDermott, who I was thrilled to see after loving him in The Middle) get into a fight. There's one moment that's so beautiful, probably my favorite in the movie: when TJ basically admits that he knows his father is a horrible father. It's so powerful because he's been taking it all out on his mother throughout the movie, frustrated with her and wishing she could somehow take his father's place, but in that moment, he shows that he's not ignorant or idolizing his father. He resents him, too, and it culminates in a heartbreaking hug between he and his mother. Then there are the thriller elements of the movie, which are also great. There are some super, super tense scenes, and the whole climax when the police are chasing them is thrilling. I love the ending, too; at first I thought it would end with Ray sacrificing her relationship with Lila and sticking with her kids, which is a morally gray area to begin with considering it's hard to argue that she'd be selfish for taking care of her kids instead of this random woman she just met. But then it ends even better, with her sacrificing four months with her kids to save a lifelong relationship between Lila and her child. It's a beautiful display of sacrifice and selflessness, and the movie ends on a refreshing hopeful note.