Once Upon a River (film)

Once Upon a River is a 2020 American drama film written, directed and produced by Haroula Rose. It stars Kenadi DelaCerna, John Ashton, Tatanka Means, Lindsay Pulsipher, Sam Straley, and Kenn E. Head. It is based on the best-selling novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell.

The film had its world premiere at the Bentonville Film Festival on May 10, 2019 and went on to play at many other film festivals such as Nashville Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Bend Film Festival, and internationally at Thessaloniki and Evolution Mallorca.

Premise
Once Upon a River is the story of Margo Crane's odyssey on the mythical Stark River in 1970's Michigan. After tragedy befalls her, Margo comes across many friends and foes as she seeks out her estranged mother, only to find her own way of life instead. Often compared to Mark Twain’s Huck Finn, or harkening to Annie Oakley, Once Upon a River is, the words of Jane Smiley for The New York Times, “an excellent American parable about the consequences of our favorite ideal, freedom.”

Cast

 * Kenadi DelaCerna as Margo Crane
 * John Ashton as Smoke
 * Tatanka Means as Bernard Crane
 * Lindsay Pulsipher as Luanne
 * Ajuawak Kapashesit as Will
 * Sam Straley as Billy Murray
 * Dominic Bogart as Brian
 * Coburn Goss as Cal Murray
 * Josephine Decker as Joanna Murray

Soundtrack
The soundtrack is made of original songs composed for the film by Will Oldham, Rodney Crowell, Peter Bradley Adams, Zac Rae, J. D. Souther and Haroula Rose.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half out of four stars, describing the film as "Beautiful. Shocking. Moving. Haunting. Lovely. Lasting. First-time feature writer-director (and Chicago area product) Haroula Rose’s “Once Upon a River” is all that and more. It’s a stark, authentic slice of a certain kind of rough-hewn life — the calloused-hands world we see in gritty films such as “Frozen River” and “Winter’s Bone,” “Leave No Trace” and “American Woman.” There’s no trace of Hollywood glamour or gloss to the story, no hint of actor-y flourishes in the deeply resonant performances. Just a lean, finely crafted, memorably real story announcing the presence of a major new filmmaking talent. “Once Upon a River” is a living prose poem filled with beautifully framed images and featuring some of the strongest writing and acting you’ll find in any movie this year. It’s not to be missed.”

Cath Clarke of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, writing, “Mark Twain meets Winter’s Bone in this slice of Americana from first-time feature director Haroula Rose. It opens with a Terrence Malick-ish monologue by 15-year-old Margo (Kenadi DelaCerna): “I missed momma, the way she smelled of cocoa butter and white wine.” A tough, resourceful teenager, Margo lives in a rundown town on the banks of the fictional Stark river in Michigan – the kind of place where skeletons of old cars pile up in front yards. Her mom ran out a year earlier (“The river stink drove her crazy”), leaving Margo and her Native American dad Bernard (Tatanka Means).”