This is a family drama draped around the true-life story of two horses rescued from otherwise certain death in the bitter cold.
The performances are quite natural. I actually clicked on Aidan Quinn's bio to check where he was born. In addition to being an excellent actor he plays a pretty convincing Canadian. Not to mention a first-rate snow-shoveller.
MacKenzie Porter plays the determined daughter. I was cheering for her all the way.
It's a heart-warming story. But the star of the show, for me, was the snow and the cold and the mountains. Being a Canadian film there's no way they could afford CGI so they must have "lucked" into a -40C day or five. The actors have frozen red cheeks, noses and ears. Their breath comes out as steam. And the snow blows around like sand in a Kurasowa film. Major props to the cast and crew for pulling it off. They really earned their Lethbridge Pilsner on this production.
Just when I thought this movie couldn't get any better-looking we get flashbacks with the horses in the autumn mountains.
If you ever get a chance to visit McBride, it's not very far west of Jasper and well worth the trip. The old train station has a coffee shop in it and you can walk right out on to the tracks and take in the scenery. Much like this movie, it'll make you grateful for the good people and the beauty in this world.
