Frozen River is a 2008 American crime drama film written and directed by Courtney Hunt. The screenplay focuses on two workingclass women who smuggle illegal immigrants from Canada to the United States. It received two Academy Award nominations Best Actress Melissa Leo and Best Original Screenplay Courtney Hunt.
Rays older son T.J. wants to find a job and help support the family so they can afford to eat something more substantial than popcorn and Tang. He and his mother clash over whether he should remain in highschool and look after his little brother Ricky or drop out to work. To make matters worse, T.J. sets an outside corner of the trailer afire with a torch in an attempt to unfreeze the water pipe. Lila longs for the day she will be able to reclaim and live with her young son, who was taken from her by her motherinlaw immediately after his birth.Because the womens route takes them from an Indian reservation in the US to an Indian reserve in Canada, they hope to avoid detection by local lawenforcement. However, their problems escalate when they are asked to smuggle a Pakistani couple and Ray, fearful their duffel bag might contain explosives, leaves it behind in subfreezing temperatures, only to discover it contained their infant baby when they arrive at their destination. She and Lila retrace their route and find the bag and the baby, which Lila insists is dead, but which she revives moments before being reunited with the babys parents. The experience leaves her shaken, and she announces she no longer wants to participate in the smuggling operation. But Ray, needing just one more crossing to finance the down payment on her mobile home, coerces her into joining her for one last journey. ........
Source: Wikipedia