Netflix Streaming is Awesome

The Snow Walker (Loved It)--So occasionally I stream movies on Netflix. It's another way for me to get my movie fix. I just watch them on my computer and I love it. If I don't like a movie, I can instantly stop it and move on to another movies ASAP. It's perfect for me. But yesterday, I started a movie that captured my attention from minute one and I didn't need to find something else to watch until the movie was over. The movie was The Snow Walker. It's directed by Charles Martin Smith. He is the actor that starred in Never Cry Wolf a couple of decades ago, and I loved that movie. It also stars Barry Pepper, who I really like as an actor and I think he's under utilized. He's starred in a couple of my all time favorite movies, so when this popped up on my Netflix recommendations I wanted to give it a try. The movie is based on a short story by Farley Mowat (who also wrote Never Cry Wolf). It's a simple story about a pilot in 1950's Canada, who is taking a native to the hospital to treat TB when the plane hes' flying crashes into the Canadian Wilderness. The pilot, Charlie (Pepper) and the native Kanaalaq, played brilliantly by a non-actor named Annabella Piugattuk, have to survive together in a cold, brutal, and vast countryside. The pilot is cocky and thinks he can traipse out to civilization on his own. He soon finds out this isn't the case and learns to depend on Kanaalaq to survive in such a harsh environment. Anabella is wonderful. They auditioned hundreds of girls and I really think they picked the perfect person for this role. She is a natural and the interplay between herself and Barry Pepper was great. Their scenes together have a natural chemistry and the arc that Charlie has is completely believable. The story is much weaker when civilization and the search party stuff is brought in, but to see how the survival happens and how the pilot learns, is worth the two hours. The ending (which I don't want to give away) was a little weak, but overall, I could watch this again. And, I probably will. It had the elements in a movie that I love. It took me to a situation which I will never be in, but was thrilled to view.