A group of settlers traveling through the Oregon High Desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.
Direction
Reichardt's 1.37:1 aspect ratio cages you with them.
Cinematography
Endless horizons that promise nothing and deliver less.
Acting
Michelle Williams' simmering intelligence against Greenwood's blowhard.
Director
Kelly Reichardt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1.37:1 ratio was Reichardt's idea to trap viewers in the same claustrophobia the women experienced, their bonnets blocking peripheral vision.
Based on an actual 1845 incident where guide Stephen Meek led 200 wagons on a disastrous 'shortcut'; the film's ambiguity about the Cayuse man mirrors how history erased Native perspectives entirely.
US
