Once Upon a River

Year: 2020

Runtime: 92 min

Language: English

Director: Haroula Rose

Budget: $90M

Drama

In 1970s Michigan, Margo Crane, a Native American teenager, sets out on a deeply personal journey down the Stark River. Seeking her estranged mother and escaping painful memories, she navigates the waterway, encountering various individuals and facing difficult circumstances. Through these experiences, Margo develops unexpected connections and begins a process of healing, ultimately uncovering her strength and finding a path toward self-discovery.

Direct adaptation

Read the Once Upon a River book behind the movie

A Teenage Markswoman Leaves a Violent Michigan Home and Navigates the Stark River by Instinct, Stories, and an Exacting Knowledge of the Wild · by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Why this book?

Haroula Rose's film directly follows Margo Crane after violence drives her from home and sends her along Michigan's river country with a boat, rifle, and the outdoor knowledge that lets her survive. It condenses the novel's encounters and softens some of its harsher chronology while preserving her search for her mother, the influence of Annie Oakley, and the difficult education imposed by men who alternately shelter and exploit her. Campbell's book provides a more extensive account of Margo's practical decisions, sexuality, isolation, and evolving definition of independence.

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