I had high expectations of this movie, namely because Kelly Reichardt is a Director that comes with alot of recommendations. It's a Western at heart and follows the decision makings of 3 families and the guide that's taking them to safety through the Oregon desert. It looks lovely, it sounds lovely and Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Bruce Greenwood give superb performances. I enjoyed the sparse dialogue. But there was something that just didn't click with me. I don't mind the non-closure. I don't mind the minimalistic feel and slow pace, but I do feel that there was just a little bit of substance missing. The isolation, the xenophobia, the hardship, the fear of these times was captured beautifully. There was just not enough of it. Unfortunately the movie didn't really live up to my expectations, I guess they were a bit high, but that won't stop me checking out more of Reichardt's films. 6.5/10

I understand why people find it boring but I was enthralled by these people's journey. It's like a documentary of how life was back then. How can you not empathize with the life of the immigrant?

One of worst westerns ever made. And one of the most boring movies I've ever seen.

Took me a little while to settle on a rating for this one. It's a great little film about emigration across the great frontier in the early century, when many brave families took on the great unknown in hopes of a better life. There were many other such expeditions at the time, some of which saw greater success, whilst others faced far worse fates than anything depicted here. This is very much a film about the journey itself, rather than the people taking it. As such, there's very little character development in the film, which I think will make it difficult for the casual viewer to empathise with them. For anyone not familiar with the time period or the degree of bravery these people showed in the face of the dangers they were presented with, there will be an element of gravitas missing from the film. But in the end, Meek's Cutoff lost some points because it left me with a feeling of ambiguity that, rather than adding any sense of either desolation or hope, simply made the story feel unfinished. The ambiguous ending is a tool used in many films for the better, but in this case I felt the characters deserved more of the spotlight, and more of a resolution come credits roll.

the film portrays the difficulties of people who dream of having a life and work in the field, with their hectares. many times having land taken by government order