Once Upon a River

Play trailer

2:04

Once Upon a River

2020

1h 32m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

Popcornmeter

0 Verified Ratings

A girl must begin an unexpected odyssey on the Stark River to find her estranged mother after her father is killed in a tragic accident.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Thinly characterized but beautifully filmed, Once Upon a River is a coming-of-age story that drifts on gently meditative currents.

Read Critics Reviews

Richard Roeper

Chicago Sun-Times

A backwoods journey dense with beautiful images and brilliant acting...

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 30, 2024

Full Review

Amber Wilkinson

The Times (UK)

There is plenty of potential here but it's a shame we spend so much time simply following the surface trajectory of Margo's life rather than diving into its emotional depths.

Rated: 3/5

May 25, 2021

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Apart from the atmospheric wetland backdrop, the film's main asset is Kenadi DelaCerna, self-possessed and soulful in the role of the part Native American 15-year-old, Margo Crane.

Rated: 3/5

May 9, 2021

Full Review

Patrick McDonald

HollywoodChicago.com

Director Haroula Rose is an artist of atmosphere, as the film's characters travel through territory that reflects their status in life. Kenadi DelaCerna is the glue, delivering a riveting performance and bearing many conflicted emotions. W/Interviews.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 18, 2024

Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

If Margo isn't the most expressive character, it ends with the possibility that a resourceful orphan can make a new life for herself away from the repressive forces of her past, a trajectory it shares with Debra Granik's Winter's Bone and Leave No Trace.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 22, 2024

Full Review

Sarah Ward

AWFJ.org

Telling of traumas that plague a Native American teenager, writer/director Haroula Rose shows the resonance of her protagonist’s experiences. Inequality is hardly a relic of history. This coming-of-age story is relevant to past, present and future

Jul 22, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Haroula Rose

Director

Kenadi DelaCerna

Margo Crane

John Ashton

Smoke

Tatanka Means

Bernard Crane

Ajuawak Kapashesit

Will

Kenn E. Head

Fishbone

Tendaberry

93%

%

Tendaberry

Watchlist

Mountains

97%

%

Mountains

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Mountains

Chestnut

50%

50%

Chestnut

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Chestnut

This Closeness

91%

%

This Closeness

Watchlist

West Michigan

83%

73%

West Michigan

Watchlist

TRAILER

for West Michigan

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Once Upon a River: Trailer 2

2:04

Once Upon a River: Trailer 1

1:02

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A girl must begin an unexpected odyssey on the Stark River to find her estranged mother after her father is killed in a tragic accident.

Director: Haroula Rose
Producer: Jacqueline E Ingram, Haroula Rose
Screenwriter: Bonnie Jo Campbell
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Neon Heart Productions, Thirty Tigers, Glass Bead Films, Chicago Media Angels
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 2, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 30, 2020
Runtime: 1h 32m

Most Popular at Home Now