A scene from frozen river, a feature film that i produced. Essay the emotional analysis of two mothers in frozen river. Notable producer heather rae has produced both narrative and documentary feature films. The animated, 3d adventure wants to enliven and subvert the conventions of typical disney princess movies while simultaneously remaining true to their aesthetic trappings for maximum merchandising potential. Courtney hunts film frozen river is a quietly moving examination of lives blinkered by poverty in a small town in upstate new york, close to the. The fact that frozen hits many of these points within the same storyform explains why audiences have taken it to heart. While frozen river revolves around the kind of moral, ethical, and financial questions rarely seen in film and does so through rich, real characters it also has a strong element of suspense and tension, mixing a sociallyconscious drama with the tension and thrills of a crime film.
Frozen, the latest disney musical extravaganza, preaches the importance of embracing your true nature but seems to be at odds with itself. Depicting poverty in frozen river and leave no trace. The town of mesena in upstate new york, on the other side of the st lawrence river that leads to canada, has that grey,wintery feel that you see on the faces of the people trying to keep their families alive. Misty upham, left, as lila and melissa leo as ray in frozen river. Melissa leo in frozen river p undits at this years oscar season were caught offbalance by two nominations for best original screenplay and best actress for a film way off everyones radar. Frozen jennifer lee film analysis marilyn schutte the plot costumes elsa characters cont. The two women though appear to be different, have much in common which unifies. Courtney hunts film frozen river is a quietly moving examination of lives blinkered by poverty in a small town in upstate new york, close to the canadian border. The river stretches for miles in either direction, frozen, and still with trees on either side. Analysis of the disney movie frozen by lizette ortiz on prezi.
An example of this struggle is in the film, frozen river 2008, where director courtney hunt presents two mothers who must overcome the trust issues within each other in order to work together and breakthrough their economic situation. This is a heartbreaking look inside and what the poorest of american families had to face to get by. Frozen river is a 2008 american crime drama film written and directed by courtney hunt. Thanks to wnb financial, there will be free childcare. Frozen river, the feature film debut of writerdirector courtney hunt, is a sincere effort and.
Aug 01, 2008 if frozen river is a social realist film, it has no political axes to grind. It is sometimes a dark film, but deeply engrossing and thoughtprovoking. Frozen river, directed by courtney hunt, is a gritty and captivating contemporary drama, based on fact, that depicts the escalating and desperate situation of single mother ray eddy, played by melissa leo. Frozen river the bridge between two worlds mrmoroccos. Frozen river is one of the best films released this year. Frozen river is the story of ray eddy, an upstate new york trailer mom who is lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling when she meets a mohawk girl who lives on a reservation that. Sometimes two performances come along that are so perfectly matched that no overt signals are needed to show how the characters feel about. Disneys new animated sequel, frozen 2, has several key moments you might not see upon your first viewing of the movie. Because the police are demanding a scapegoat, the tribal head decides to excommunicate lila for five years due to her smuggling history which involved. As the local economy withers away, residents of the town and those on the nearby mohawk reservation turn to illegally smuggling immigrants into the country as a way to turn a quick.
This critical analysis will principally focus on one of the two main characters, anna, to problematize the contradiction of feminism and patriarchy in this movie. Frozen opens up by setting the stage for the problems between the two sisters. Frozen river the bridge between two worlds mrmoroccos blog. More indie earnestness and uplift, you guess the kind of picture only sundance could possibly love. The major theme of the film is illegal immigration. Pundits at this years oscar season were caught offbalance by two nominations for best original screenplay and best actress for a film way. Frozen river story, frozen river hollywood movie story, plot. The four women abandon the vehicle and take refuge at the indian reservation. With the predominance of gray skies, ice, and snow casting a monochromatic pall over the film, one might think banding would be an issue, but any tonal variation is completely natural. Frozen river, a debut film written and directed by courtney hunt, never steps wrong. The film revolves around two single mothers who are working hard to afford for their children.
But lila has found a way to do itsmuggling illegal immigrants into the states. Despite initially looking like it will be a bleak exercise in sociorealist misery, frozen river is an engaging and tense series of crisis points where the potential for tragedy is always around the corner. The film begins with ray, a mother of two young boys, devastated. Frozen river essay frozen river essay in the film frozen. Yet while the former plays like a heavyhanded message movie. Watching this movie is like gazing at the torment in a single womans eyes. With melissa leo, misty upham, charlie mcdermott, michael okeefe.
An example of this struggle is found in the film, frozen river 2008, where director courtney hunt presents two mothers who must overcome their trust issues and work together to stabilize their financial situation. Frozen river 2008 is an american drama film written and directed by courtney hunt. Rays trailer yard, massena new york day 3 ray eddy, 38, a bit worn for her years, with a long red ponytail, wearing an old bathrobe, sits in the passenger seat of her red plymouth horizon with the door open, smoking a cigarette, thinking. Frozen river is a heartwrenching independent film directed and written by courtney hunt, starring underdog melissa leo ray eddy, the beautiful misty upham lila littlewolf, and charlie mcdermott t. Analyzing film, like analyzing literature fiction texts, etc.
Even though a perfect mother does not exist, almost every mother would bend over backwards to support their child financially and emotionally. Rex features c ourtney hunts lowbudget bluecollar thriller, frozen river, is one of the most. Aug 14, 2008 frozen river, a debut film written and directed by courtney hunt, never steps wrong. Frozen river is a decent independent film from debut writerdirector courtney hunt. Keep an eye out for opportunities to help plan the festival. The only entertainment seems to be the bingo house on the mohawk indian reservation. Frozen river uses two narrative spaces, the road and the no road, to examine racial dynamics in the area. They both have children, ray has two sons and lila has a baby boy. Frozen is an emotionally compelling film by disney aimed at a young teen audience. Anna is cured by magical forest trolls, but to prevent any future accidents, their parents decide that elsa must hide her powers until she learns to control them they also erase annas memories of elsas magic without telling. Keep reading to see 21 details you might have missed. Review and analysis of courtney hunts 2008 indie crime drama, frozen river.
A nearby indian territory stretches across the border to canada with a drivable frozen river between. It resists all temptations to turn this plot into some kind of a thriller and keeps it grounded on the struggle for economic survival. Frozen river essay in the film frozen river we saw some aspects of race, class, and issues. Frozen river story, frozen river hollywood movie story. The screenplay focuses on two workingclass women who smuggle illegal. Despite initially looking like it will be a bleak exercise in. Frozen river was reportedly shot in hd which helps explain the absence of grain, but still exhibits the gritty, muted look of independent filmmaking. Frozen river is the story of ray eddy, an upstate new york trailer mom who is lured into the world of illegal. Jul 31, 2008 your heart sinks when you see the grim and unwelcoming opening shots of frozen river, a first film by writerdirector courtney hunt, shot digitally and featuring a cast that is off the thermometer when it comes to name recognition. Apr 03, 2009 courtney hunts film frozen river is a quietly moving examination of lives blinkered by poverty in a small town in upstate new york, close to the canadian border. The film begins by introducing ray, a mother of two young. I believe its success stems largely from the relationship between the two sisters, princesses anna and elsa, which is both authentic and unprecedented. Ray has a car, and although the two women dont trust each other, they team up and share rays dodge spirit to make a run across the frozen st.
The movie frozen river is a realistic example of the life lived by many poverty stricken mothers in america during the current times of extreme financial struggle. Frozen river is a 2008 movie written and directed by courtney hunt and starring melissa leo and misty upham when her gamblingaddict husband disappears with money shed earmarked for buying a new doublewide trailer, struggling mom ray eddy gets pulled into the world of human trafficking alongside lila littlewolf, a mohawk bingoparlor employee seeking money to get her infant son returned to. The screenplay focuses on two workingclass women who smuggle illegal immigrants from canada to the united states. Frozen 2 details and analysis you might have missed. Analysis of two mothers in frozen river 1215 words cram. If frozen river is a social realist film, it has no political axes to grind. The emotional analysis of two mothers in frozen river cram. Aug 01, 2008 but lila has found a way to do itsmuggling illegal immigrants into the states.
It describes the family and community roles, rituals, and belief systems that sustain their life processes. Frozen river, the feature film debut of writerdirector courtney hunt, is. We watched the film twice to try to catch all the best disney references like nods to big hero six, the little mermaid, and more plus cool examples of foreshadowing. While the two sisters play, young elsa accidentally hits anna in the head with an ice blast. Every character is carefully drawn and totally believable, and i was immediately engrossed in the story line. Frozen river received the grand jury prize at the 2008 sundance film festival, won two independent spirit awards and two gotham independent film awards, and was nominated for two academy awards. Frozen river by hiram lee 28 october 2008 directed and written by courtney hunt. Characters costumes lighting theme anna anna and elsa costumes cont. Its about two working class women who are trying to make ends meet.
Frozen river learning integration paper this essay analyzes family methods of interaction, strengths, and barriers of rays family and lila. It is more interested in exploring the reluctant bond that develops between ray and lila than in suggesting any. The character ray, played by melissa leo, is abandoned by her gambling husband and is left to raise her two young boys. Positive messages positive messages portrayed in this movie are about not being afraid of your power and talents, not letting people you love run away, and the importance of figuring out that love demands selflessness and generosity.
Best actress melissa leo and best original screenplay courtney hunt. Rex features c ourtney hunts lowbudget bluecollar thriller, frozen river, is one of the most impressive feature debuts of the past several. We were sad to see the 2019 festival come to a close, but we are excited to jump into planning the 2020 festival. The women are ray, a white american lady and lila native mohawk.
Forced to keep her powers in check, elsa sequesters herself, leaving anna with wild guesses about why they can no longer build snowmen together relationship story problem. The movie was written and directed by courtney hunt. This thanksgiving weekend i had the pleasure of getting the opportunity to watch the movie frozen 2 at the regal river stone movie theater in coeur dalene, idaho. First, from the view of dominant reading position, i will analyze how frozen advocates. Grey and unsentimental, frozen river winner of the grand jury prize in sundances weak 2008 dramatic competition should rally critics but. My family and i, just like everyone else, had of course seen the previous childrens movie and we all expected this sequel to be something much similar. Jul 24, 20 frozen river 2008 feature film debut of writerdirector courtney hunt is a very compelling, suspenseful drama, which hinges on a very specific locale, but the theme has global resonance. Feb 01, 2011 frozen river 2008 is an american drama film written and directed by courtney hunt. Frozen 2 details and analysis you might have missed insider. I definitely recommend frozen river, though perhaps not after a particularly long or difficult day. When i heard that quentin tarantino handed the grand jury prize for best feature to courtney hunts frozen river at this years sundance film.
Dec, 2019 this thanksgiving weekend i had the pleasure of getting the opportunity to watch the movie frozen 2 at the regal river stone movie theater in coeur dalene, idaho. They are both struggling economically, ray is a clerk at a discount store and lila is a bingoparlor. The film was written and directed by courtney hunt, and stars melissa leo and misty upham. Ray tries to elude capture by crossing the frozen river where one of the wheels of the car breaks through the ice. The ending took me completely by surprise, all the more so because id seen the trailer multiple times and thought the plot would be more conventional. Your heart sinks when you see the grim and unwelcoming opening shots of frozen river, a first film by writerdirector courtney hunt, shot digitally and featuring a cast that is off the thermometer when it comes to name recognition.
Having a clear argument and supporting evidence is every bit as critical to film analysis as to other forms of academic writing. Only a few more smuggling days left before christmas. Though their analysis deals with aboriginality and whiteness in australia, many of their observations and conclusions regarding the cinematic use of the road can be applied to a racial literacy approach to frozen river. Courtney hunts frozen river and ten years later, debra graniks leave no trace, both seek to provide realistic depictions of poverty. The tribal elders disapprove and attempt to stop lila by forbidding anyone to sell her a car. It explores at length the extent to which people under pressure will go to risk everything and to survive.
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