This movie is slow, but it kept me glued to my seat. Seven people start out on what turns out to be an arduous, perilous and deadly trek to Alaska during the 1898 gold rush. Their target - Dawson, in the Yukon Territory, using the "interior" land route through British Columbia.
Gradually, the seven are reduced to 2: Emily, played by Nina Hoss, and the wrangler, Carl, played by Marko Mandic. I was enthralled by the travails of the group, and the gradual reduction in their numbers. The loneliness and remoteness was palpable, and from an historical standpoint, appeared fairly accurate. The only thing missing, IMO, was the lack of wild animals Never saw a deer, elk, or even a bear. Although we did get a night of wolves howling off in the distance.
Anyway, the movie ends with Emily and Carl, two emigrants from Europe who need a good break, finding love in all this misery, and you get the idea it could be leading to something serious as they rest up in a small village before continuing on. But Carl is gunned down by a former enemy. Emily kills the assassin, then cradles Carl as he dies.
There is almost no dialog after this, but clearly, Emily stays in town to get Carl buried. Maybe a few days, or a week? She is then seen saddling her horse obviously heading out on her way to Dawson. She has new clothes on, a fully loaded pack horse, and has a look of grim determination about her. She stops by the grave of Carl, whose headstone indicates Carl died on Sept 7, 1898. The movie ends as she rides out of town. A townsperson asks "Where you going?" She responds over her shoulder as she rides off, "Dawson."
Emily was clearly a very strong woman, real "pioneer stock," as might be said. I wanted to know how she fared after leaving this little village. I wanted an "Epilog." So here is my version of an Epilog.
Epilog Emily made it to Dawson City as winter was setting in. She found work as a school teacher, nurse and seamstress. The following summer, she opened a restaurant and a small hotel. She prospered nicely, and was highly regarded in the community of Dawson, helping decide issues at several miner's meetings. In 1907 it was reported in the local paper that she left Dawson a "wealthy lady who would be sorely missed in these parts."
Shortly thereafter, there is mention of her in a Whitehorse newspaper, and later she moved to Vancouver, BC. An obituary in the Vancouver paper commented on her death in 1935, indicating she was a highly regarded "stately matron" about town, active in her church, and involved in many charitable endeavors. She died peacefully with friends at her side. She was never married.
Gradually, the seven are reduced to 2: Emily, played by Nina Hoss, and the wrangler, Carl, played by Marko Mandic. I was enthralled by the travails of the group, and the gradual reduction in their numbers. The loneliness and remoteness was palpable, and from an historical standpoint, appeared fairly accurate. The only thing missing, IMO, was the lack of wild animals Never saw a deer, elk, or even a bear. Although we did get a night of wolves howling off in the distance.
Anyway, the movie ends with Emily and Carl, two emigrants from Europe who need a good break, finding love in all this misery, and you get the idea it could be leading to something serious as they rest up in a small village before continuing on. But Carl is gunned down by a former enemy. Emily kills the assassin, then cradles Carl as he dies.
There is almost no dialog after this, but clearly, Emily stays in town to get Carl buried. Maybe a few days, or a week? She is then seen saddling her horse obviously heading out on her way to Dawson. She has new clothes on, a fully loaded pack horse, and has a look of grim determination about her. She stops by the grave of Carl, whose headstone indicates Carl died on Sept 7, 1898. The movie ends as she rides out of town. A townsperson asks "Where you going?" She responds over her shoulder as she rides off, "Dawson."
Emily was clearly a very strong woman, real "pioneer stock," as might be said. I wanted to know how she fared after leaving this little village. I wanted an "Epilog." So here is my version of an Epilog.
Epilog Emily made it to Dawson City as winter was setting in. She found work as a school teacher, nurse and seamstress. The following summer, she opened a restaurant and a small hotel. She prospered nicely, and was highly regarded in the community of Dawson, helping decide issues at several miner's meetings. In 1907 it was reported in the local paper that she left Dawson a "wealthy lady who would be sorely missed in these parts."
Shortly thereafter, there is mention of her in a Whitehorse newspaper, and later she moved to Vancouver, BC. An obituary in the Vancouver paper commented on her death in 1935, indicating she was a highly regarded "stately matron" about town, active in her church, and involved in many charitable endeavors. She died peacefully with friends at her side. She was never married.