Born and raised in Alaska, and no film I can remember has ever captured the beauty, isolation, and quiet that Andrew does. He just nails it, effortlessly. Something that no one has done.
The scenes in the home, I was standing screaming, how is it not a documentary?! Just fantastic cinematography, capturing the feeling of a family home/kitchen.
The hand-held camerawork throughout the film was beautiful and smooth. I never felt jostled or hurried, it's filmed like a ghost was present at the scene. His angles and framing were SO TERRIFIC, capturing and relating so much emotion.
You will die when you watch this film, as it calls upon so many feelings that every kid has growing up, but here it is magnified by their life in Alaska. I'd give it a hundred stars, it's one of my favourite films, it felt like a classic while I watched it the first time.
I reccomend it for anyone who is thinking about visiting Alaska, or if you are obsessed with it in general--THIS is the untold story. This is the place that tourists don't go, never see. This is the real Alaska.
On the Ice
2011
Drama / Thriller
On the Ice
2011
Drama / Thriller
67% - Critics
61% - Audience
6.3
Plot summary
In the isolated, frozen town of Barrow, Alaska, Iñupiaq teenagers Qalli and Aivaaq have grown up like brothers in a tight-knit community defined as much by ancient traditions as by hip-hop and snowmobiles. Early one morning, on a seal hunt with their friend James, a tussle turns violent, and James is killed. Panic stricken, terrified, and with no one to blame but themselves, Qalli and Aivaaq lie and declare the death a tragic accident. As Barrow roils with grief and his protective father becomes suspicious, Qalli stumbles through guilt-filled days, wrestling with his part in the death. For the first time in his life, he's treading alone on existential ice.—Anonymous
April 27, 2023 at 10:25 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEBMovie Reviews
Best Alaskan Film Ever?
The Best Film to show Alaska how it actually is.
This film is a triumph of Alaskan narrative filmmaking. Showing Alaskan Natives as they really live, including old traditions, dance, and hunting, next to cell phones, hip hop, and drugs. It doesn't get tied up on trying to show the beauty of Alaska, and neither the exoticness of it's peoples. Instead, it uses them to further it's themes and plot. Incredibly sensitive, honest, and entertaining.
While it's easy to say this is a movie about the evils of drugs, or the ability of the arctic landscape to drive one to insanity, the film gracefully dodges such easy targets and focuses on a story about a young man trying to grow up and a community dealing with a tragedy, which are much more open ended, accessible ideas. This allows those without any knowledge of Native Alaskans, or Alaska even, to become entranced by the story.
Don't let the non-pro cast turn you away, either. It is all native persons (no Asians pretending to native American), and the direction makes sure they're up to snuff to all other films by mature filmmakers.
wonderful
contains some of the best acting i have seen in 40 years bar none, some of the scenes the fear and anguish is palpable. this is a must see movie,This is done with non-professionals, its amazing. Hollywood should be in fear of the skill and naturalness of this presentation. The dialogue is perfect there is not a phony or contrived scene in the movie my hats off to the director and the talent coordinator to find the gems who are in this film. Set in the frozen north, its a dismal landcape to say the least. How long could I last in this land is something that was in the back of my mind the whole time. This is not a place for the faint of heart. You make the smallest mistake up here and your dead. You find out this when the young teenagers are discussing where to hunt.You leave this film with a new perspective on your own life