Meek's Cutoff

Entree: Cowboy Stew

Dessert: Chocolate Cowboy Hats
Timing: June Heatwave

Movie:
Meek's Cutoff is an intuitive mix of fiction & real life events revolving around a group of westbound pioneers. It turns out that there was a man named Meek who led about 200 people into the Oregon high desert under the assumption that they were taking an alternative short cut from the Oregon Trail.  In the movie the premise is the same but the amount of characters is cut down to about nine people.  Even though the film simplified the situation it is anything but simple on it's own.

Audiences are intentionally left with many questions and theories which are essentially mysteries of the frontier that no one except those present would know anyways.  For example:

• Was the Native American on a suicide mission & purposely leading them into a very certain death via starvation?
• Was the Native American trying to help the settlers but with language being the main barrier was unable to do so?
• Did Meek ever really know of a short cut or did he greatly underestimate the vastness of the country?
• Did Meek plan on getting these people out into the country & robbing them but then decided not to go through with it?

Additionally there are a couple of well thought out themes that make this even more interesting to watch. For instance:

• The movie is filmed in SD which to say the least is an adjustment for modern day audiences. However the purpose is to feel as trapped as the settlers did in the high desert.
• The women are wearing bonnets in order to protect themselves from the sun, wind, etc.  However think about how they represent the confines of being a woman during this time period.  
• One of the pioneers brings a yellow canary on the trail.  The bird is a symbol of refinement & frivolous culture which is in stark contrast to the barren & harsh frontier. 

In the end this is not an action packed movie & people that don't appreciate history will not enjoy it. However if you are a fan of history, like reading in between the lines & symbolism you will appreciate it for what it is...a half fiction, half non-fiction character study of what life might have been like on the unforgiving westbound trail.

Mel's Rating: 90%
On a scale of 100.

Brett's Rating: ⚡️⚡️
On a scale of 10.