Home and where you belong are consistent themes of Red Snow, even as the film bounces around in establishing the significance of those themes.
Dylan Nadazeau (Asivak Koostachin) is a Canadian soldier fighting in Afghanistan. Nadazeau is also from the Gwich'in First Nations people.
The Taliban ends up capturing the soldiers, double crossed by their interpreter Aman (Shafin Karim). The interrogator is convinced Nadazeau is a spy because his notebook is in Athabaskan. The words are for his love for his girlfriend back home.
The Taliban interrogator explains the irony of a Canadian soldier fighting in someone else's home while Canada occupies the solider's homeland.
The movie shows off Dylan's life growing up with his grandmother (Tantoo Cardinal). Dylan bonds with his young cousin Asana (Miika Bryce Whiskeyjack).
Aman is caught in the need to protect his own family, which is why he turned on the Canadian soldiers. Aman is a teacher, which is of little value in the Taliban world.
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Marie Clements, as writer and director, filmed in Canada in the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, which is not apparent from seeing the film. Her portrayal of Dylan trapped in a thankless war in Afghanistan. His entry into the army is conflicted in that Canada, the country for which he is fighting, doesn't do well by Indigenous people back home.
The film shifts with Dylan and Aman's Pashtun family back on the same side and on the run. Dylan bonds with Aman's young boy, who reminds Dylan of Asana.
Getting through the first half of the film is difficult. The second half of the film is worth the rough patches of the first half.
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An Indigenous story set in the Afghanistan war is an intriguing way to tell a story in Canada and also not Canada. The lessons learned are impactful yet the film is still entertaining.
Red Snow is available on Netflix.
video credit: YouTube/VIFF
photo credit: Red Snow
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