October 27, 2017 – A boy goes hunting with his divorced father in this tale of survival set in the rugged mountains of Montana, but this movie is somewhat different than the usual Hollywood treatment of this kind of story.

For one thing, this is an independent film, distributed by IFC films, and directed by Alex and Andrew Smith, who are twin stepsons of William Kittredge (“Heartland”). This kind of film is in the family. The story opens with young David (played by Josh Wiggins of “Max”) riding with other passengers in a prop commuter plane to a small airport in Montana, the kind of place where you carry your own bags through the snow after you get off the plane.

Shivering in the cold, David rides with his father, Cal (Matt Bomer of “The Magnificent Seven”) to a cabin in rural Montana. They go bird hunting, and David says he has forgotten some of the things his father taught him about hunting since the last time he visited Montana a year ago. The hunt is not entirely successful.

The next day, they set out on a trip to the high mountains nearby to hunt for a Moose that Cal has been stalking. He explains to his son that he killed his first Moose when he was only 14 years old. We see Cal in flashback scenes (younger Cal is played by Alex Neustaedter in these scenes) hunting with his father, Clyde (Bill Pullman of “Independence Day: Resurgence”). But not all is at it appears at first. The story of young Cal's first big game hunt is drawn out and complicated.

After a hike to a remote sheepherder's hut (it appears to be a Basque design) David reveals to his father that he doesn't want to shoot a Moose. Cal offers to take his son back down the mountain and abandon the hunt, but David changes his mind, and they continue on to the high country the next day.

The hunters encounter a grizzly bear, an accident ensues and both hunters are injured. They have to rely on each other to get back down the mountain to safety. On the trip, Cal continues his story about his first big game hunt, and the story takes some very unexpected twists and turns. We learn a lot more about Cal and his father and the family's complicated relationship to hunting and to each other.

In some ways, this film reflects Hollywood attitudes towards hunting and eating meat, but other ways it reflects very different ideas about hunting and meat-eating. At any rate, the ideas expressed about hunting are a lot more thoughtful and complicated than the usual Hollywood treatment of hunting. The film has an equally complex story to tell about the often complicated relationship between fathers and sons.

The actors are all convincing. The cinematography by Todd McMullen looks great, despite the fact that much of the shooting must have been done on a low budget and under difficult weather conditions in remote locations (mostly filmed in Montana). This low budget film looks like a big budget film. Unfortunately, it has not done much business at the box office. It was shown on the big screen briefly in Laramie. I managed to catch a matinee showing on the film's last day here, and I was alone in the auditorium. I walked out of the theater afterwards and was very thankful it was but a short walk to the car as snow filled the air. This film rates a B.

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