A 2010 western drama by the independent American director Kelly Reichardt. Loosely based on a historical events on the "Oregon Trail" in 1845.
Kelly Reichardt
Aurofilm showed already showed: Wendy and Lucy, First Cow and Showing Up.
Like all of her movies, it is low budget and "minimalist", and it received many praise among critics and prices in festivals, but not much from general audience...
History
Revisionist Westerns are now popular, but still always from male's perspective.
This one gives a female perspective. KR: "What would John Wayne’s character look like from the woman that served his soup?"
Academy ratio (1.37) format
Modern movies and especially westerns, usually shot with wide ratio like "cinemascope" which emphasize the beauty of vast landscapes. KR chose a more "square" ratio, as in the old classic westerns until the 50s, in order to focus more on people and present time. She said: "The square aspect ratio gives you an idea of the women's closed view [their bonnet]; the loneliness of their journeys".
Final word
The famous cinema critic Roger Ebert wrote that "Meek's Cutoff is more an experience than a story". Surely, it gives a strong impression of the challenges faced by of these pioneers on their way through the desert to the "promised land".
It's contemplative more than action packed. The far west, its deserts were not a comfy place, and the journey of the settlers heading for the West was long and difficult: Kelly Reichardt's style fits very well with it. Many people find this style very slow and boring. Expect quite a few of the audience to leave, but that's fine: those who enjoy it will find the journey rewarding.
Like other odysseys, will they survive that shortcut in their anyway perilous journey? What danger will they face, who will they meet? Will they find the basic needs to survive, like water?
Will they follow the guide, the leader, the authority, after they realise that something is getting wrong? For us, the spectators: is it just an illusion, a dream? Will we find these answers?