Weekly Film Symposium #1: Second Response

I've thought a bit about the larger implications Frozen River, what watching it has meant to me, what themes really impacted me, etc.  What most struck me was how the film portrayed the lengths desperate people will go and the price they will pay to provide for the ones they love, especially single mothers.  Melissa Leo's character did everything she could to provide for her children, even breaking the law.  Our first introduction to her character shows us great insight into her emotional struggles.  She sits in her car, the glove box opened and empty, and cries.  We later learn that her gambling addict husband has stolen the money she had hidden in the glove box to pay for the family's new double wide trailer, but even without knowing exactly why she cries, deep pain and anguish is visible in her face.  Again, Leo gave a fantastic performance.  Her character isn't the only person to act desperately.  Lily Littlewolf acts self-destructively because her mother-in-law, bitter because of the death of her son, takes her newborn son away from her.  She smuggles immigrants across the border then puts the money in Pringles cans and leaves them on her mother-in-law's doorstep, hoping in some small way to provide for the son she longs to nurture.  I feel so much empathy for these characters, good people beaten down by life, by the cold, and by circumstances they often can't control.

I agree with you, Justin, that the moment they learn there was a baby in the bag they left behind was intense and heartbreaking.  I assumed the worst and ached for the immigrant couple.  I wasn't sure how to view the baby's revival, whether to accept it as medical good luck like Ray or to see the hand of Providence in it like Lily.  I was browsing the film's IMDB message board and came across an interesting wikipedia link to something called brown fat.  Apparently mammals are born with a type of fat called brown fat, and this fat's primary purpose is to generate heat.  In fact, one of its primary functions is to generate heat even when body temperature is below the regular threshold.  This is vital for infants because of their inability to escape cold on their own.  It's possible then that the child could have survived the cold because of its brown fat, but there's no way to say.  I appreciate the film leaving this conclusion ambiguous; each viewer has to decide for themselves.  Personally, I see a little bit of both sides in the baby's survival, but that is just my personal opinion.

A question I've been thinking about since watching this film is:  how far would I go to provide for my family if I were in similar dire circumstances?  Would I break the law?  How much can you fault someone in that situation?  I realize that I will not likely, at least I hope, find myself in such dire necessity and inability to provide the basic needs for my future family, but I realize that life is unpredictable.  I am blessed to have resources to turn to in dark times (my family, the Church, etc.), but if I didn't have those fall backs, how would I behave?  I really can't say.  I think of my nephews and niece and how much I love them and would do anything to help them, and that is coming from an uncle.  I almost cannot fathom how much stronger I would feel as a father and husband.  I'm pretty certain that I would do almost anything for my family, without resorting to violence or other major violations of the law and/or other's rights.  I don't want to get into a discussion of moral relativism, but I really believe a person's circumstances and intentions determine the justness of their actions -- to an extent, of course.  Mostly I feel that people acting out of love for their families will receive mercy and understanding in the end, but I realize the law of the land cannot bend.  That's why I'm glad that Ray accepts her punishment at the end of the film.  I find the ending to be very optimistic and hopeful, like the worst of the storm has passed and better things are in store for both Ray and her sons, as well as Lily and her child.

This really is a fantastic film, and I'm glad we agreed to watch it.