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Frozen River

Frozen River

Drama · Crime · 2008

A financially strapped mother joins a Mohawk woman to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.

Movie details

Frozen River

“Desperation Knows No Borders”

2008 Drama · Crime 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

A financially strapped mother joins a Mohawk woman to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Frozen River?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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I Want to Live!

I Want to Live!

Drama · 1958

Brazen perpetual offender Barbara Graham tries to go straight but she finds herself implicated in a murder and sent to death row.

The Sunchaser

The Sunchaser

Drama · 1996

A young half-Navajo convict dying of cancer forces a yuppie doctor to drive him to a magic healing lake.

Kid Galahad

Kid Galahad

Drama · 1962

After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.

Frontera

Frontera

Western · 2014

After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.

Rancho Notorious

Rancho Notorious

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A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from the law in exchange for a price.

The Visitor

The Visitor

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Drama · 2017

An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.

In America

In America

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A family of Irish immigrants adjusts to life on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen while also grieving the death of a child.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Courtney Hunt

Written by

Courtney Hunt

Melissa Leo

Melissa Leo

Ray Eddy

Misty Upham

Misty Upham

Lila Littlewolf

Charlie McDermott

Charlie McDermott

TJ

J

John Canoe

Bernie Littlewolf

Jay Klaitz

Jay Klaitz

Guy Versailles

D

Dylan Carusona

Jimmy

J

James Reilly

Ricky

Court is in session

Put Frozen River on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.