The Snow Walker

Trying to survive in desolate northern Canada

In 1953, a Canadian bush pilot based in Yellowknife (Barry Pepper) flies a routine gig in the area of Queen Maud Gulf of the Northwest Territories (which is Nunavut today). When he crash-lands with a sickly Inuk girl, their chances of making it back alive aren’t good. James Cromwell is on hand as the pilot’s boss in Yellowknife.

“The Snow Walker” (2004) is a survival flick helmed by Charles Martin Smith, who no doubt learned a thing or two about shooting in the remote North on the set of “Never Cry Wolf” (1983). It was based on a short story by Farley Mowat, who happens to be the character played by Smith in “Never Cry Wolf.”

Although beautiful in its own unique way, the setting is too one-dimensional for my tastes, but the acting is convincing. Anyone interested in gritty realistic survival films should find something to appreciate. It features the mundaneness of "Limbo" (1999), but lacks the thrills of "The Edge" (1997). While this is the least of these, it’s superior to "Anything to Survive" (1990).

The movie runs 1 hour, 49 minutes, and was shot in Churchill, Manitoba (tundra scenes); Rankin Inlet, Nunavut; Merritt, British Columbia (caribou hunt); and Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia.

GRADE: B-