Frozen River

A desperate single mother living in upstate New York resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet in first-time feature director/screenwriter Courtney Hunt’s emotionally wrenching drama, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ray Eddy is in an impossible position; it’s two days before Christmas and her husband has suddenly disappeared with all of the family savings. Now, as the newly single mother of two realizes the futility of attempting to cover the house payments on her meager Yankee One Dollar Store wages, her children are forced to exist on a nutritionally devoid diet of popcorn and Tang. Deciding that her only hope for survival is to find a man who will support her and her children, Ray sets out to find a husband but instead makes the acquaintance of street-smart Mohawk Lila Littlewolf. Lila, too, has been struggling to keep her head above water amidst economic despair, and has recently stumbled across a rather unconventional solution to her dire financial situation. Lately, Lila has been earning a living by smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., but her tribal elders vehemently disapprove of the scheme and have recently attempted to stop it by forbidding the local auto dealers from selling her a car. As fate would have it, Ray’s Dodge Spirit may just be the only thing the destitute mother can count on anymore, and as this unlikely pair gas up the tank for a daring dash across the iced-over St. Lawrence River, their fates become forever intertwined in ways that neither could have ever anticipated., A grim but compelling portrait of women in dire straits features striking performances by Melissa Leo and Misty Upham. They play desperate single moms, one white, one Native American, who team up to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. from Canada by driving a car across the icy expanse of the St. Lawrence River. Michael O’Keefe is excellent as a sympathetic border-patrol guard and Charlie McDermott is impressive as Leo’s teen son. Written and directed by Courtney Hunt., A cash-strapped single mother tries to make ends meet by teaming with a Native American woman to smuggle illegal aliens from Canada into the U.S., Deserted by her husband, with Christmas coming and two sons to provide for, Ray Eddy is drawn to a smuggling scheme that involves crossing the icy St Lawrence River on the US-Canadian border. Will the risks be worth the reward? Starring Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O’Keefe, Mark Boone Jr., A cash-strapped single mother tries to make ends meet by teaming with a Native American woman to smuggle illegal aliens from Canada into the US., When her husband leaves with all of the family savings, a desperate mother resorts to smuggling immigrants over a desolate US border in a bid to keep her head above water., Deserted by her husband, with Christmas coming and two sons to provide for, Ray Eddy is drawn to a smuggling scheme that involves crossing the icy St Lawrence River on the US-Canadian border. Will the risks be worth the reward? Starring Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O’Keefe, Mark Boone Junior., As Ray Eddy’s husband disappears with the down payment for the new caravan, she is forced to take matters in her own hands. She reluctantly allies with the Indian woman Lila Littlewolf who makes a living by smuggling illegal immigrants from Canada to the