Meek's Cutoff

"The Road to Civilisation is Not Always Civilised."

Apr 15 2011 PG 1h 44m
Drama, Western

A group of settlers traveling through the Oregon High Desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.

Plot

The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other's instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.

Written by

Jonathan Raymond

Directed by

Kelly Reichardt

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Evenstar Films, filmscience, Oscilloscope

Languages

English

Awards

7 wins & 14 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
15,680
Average Rating
6.5 out of 10
Metascore
85
Popularity
NA