Red Snow (2020)

I knew early into watching Red Snow that it would likely end up as one of my favourite films of the year. It was just how all the pieces came together. There was a poetic beauty to writer/director Marie Clements' vision. She sets us immediately into a powerful and gripping story, and tells it both backward and forward from that point in a way that fleshes out her main character and the people around him so beautifully. I was hooked from the first scene and riveted for the whole ride.

Red Snow is the story of Dylan a young Gwich'in (a Canadian First Nation) man who, as a Canadian soldier during the Afghanistan war, is taken hostage by the Taliban. As this happens he remembers back to his childhood in the North West Territories, remember his love who killed herself as a youth, his grandmother who raised him, and his brother. Also during this story he befriends an Afghan family who are also struggling with the Taliban.

Red Snow is remarkably beautiful to watch. Clements finds incredible beauty in the snow covered arctic and the deserts of Afghanistan (although I understand B.C. stood in for the middle east here). She also films her subjects so beautifully. She is a remarkable film maker if this is any indication. I am eager to see what she will do next.

She also finds layered and fascinating ways to tell the story. As I said her narrative is not linear yet it all plays out in a very honest way. It isn't laid out like this to trick us or deceive us, but for details about who everyone is to ripple outward as our understanding of character and place becomes richer and deeper. Her cast is strong as well. The legendary Tantoo Cardinal gives a career topping performance and breakout star Asivak Koostachin is stunning in a difficult demanding part.

There are so many beautiful little moments in this intense film. From one character's desire to mock westerner presuppositions of the Inuit by coming up with as many words for snow as possible, to the way the film explores the way nation states fail their own people. The film is an exploration of how our identities intersect across divisions and how our nationalities both drive us apart and bring us together. There is a desperation here, for survival, for something better. It is about bringing out the worst in us and the best in us.

Red Snow is a stunning film and a beautiful story and shows the promise of a film maker and a new star.

Red Snow
Starring: Asivak Koostachin, Shafin Karim, Mozhdah Jamalzadah, Tantoo Cardinal, Kane Mahon, Miika Bryce Wiskeyjack, Ishaan Vasdev
Writer/Director: Marie Clements