Frozen River: Not Just That "Illegal Immigration" Movie

Last updated on: May 5, 2009 at 9:13 am by Carrisa Smith

Frozen River: Not Just That "Illegal Immigration" Movie 2009-05-05T09:13:48-06:00 Carrisa Smith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Frozen River is a movie for bleak economic times that yet remains hopeful about the ability of humans to do the right thing—the right thing according to their consciences, if not exactly according to the law.

The film is set on the border between New York and Canada, and it’s clear that few economic opportunities are available in the area, either in the town proper or on the nearby Mohawk reservation. We first meet Ray Eddy (played by Melissa Leo, justly nominated for an Oscar for the role) sitting outside her trailer, smoking and crying. Her husband has just left to gamble away the money the family had been saving for a double-wide trailer.

Sounds like a sentimental set-up, doesn’t it? It’s not. One of the amazing things about this movie, especially considering that it’s a first film for writer-director Courtney Hunt, is how nimbly it avoids clichés about “trailer-park trash” or about “the deserving poor.” It’s a movie that liberals and conservatives could probably watch together happily. Ray is clearly the victim of circumstances beyond her control, but the movie also suggests that she may have made some bad financial decisions in the past. That huge, flat-screen TV in the tiny living room of her trailer, for example?

Desperate to make the payment on the new trailer to avoid losing her deposit, and unable to talk her manager into giving her more hours at her job, Ray finds herself smuggling immigrants across the border (yes, the Canadian border) along with a similarly desperate Mohawk woman named Lila. By focusing on Ray and Lila and telling us nothing of the backstories of the immigrants themselves, who are usually transferred to the trunk of Ray’s car without any personal interaction, the movie also avoids stirring up sentiment on either side about illegal immigration. This is Ray’s and Lila’s story, period. The one emotional encounter they have with an immigrant reinforces the movie’s theme of mothers’ sacrificial love for their children.

However, the aspect of the movie I most appreciated was that, while it portrays Ray’s and Lila’s self-sacrificing love for their children, it suggests that there are some limits—that it’s not okay to sacrifice other people, even out of love for your children. In other words, the film raises powerful questions about the relationship between the nuclear family and the larger community. While Frozen River suggests that concern for one’s nuclear family alone is individualistic and insular, it doesn’t exactly celebrate the tribal way of life, either: the Mohawk tribal council’s treatment of Lila is portrayed fairly negatively. The movie, instead, seems to encourage sacrificial commitment to those in similar harsh circumstances, those who may not share your blood but who do share your struggles.

While Frozen River doesn’t often explicitly deal with Christianity, the portrait of non-familial community at the end of the film is one that, to me, recalls the end of Acts 2, in which we learn that the believers “had all things in common” and shared with all, “as any had need.” Frozen River could serve as a powerful reminder to the church about how we should be living during times of hardship and plenty alike.

Previous Post

May 4, 2009

"God Talk" Fish on Eagleton on Dawkins and Hitchens

Next Post

May 5, 2009 The Birds and the Pixelated Bees

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz