Reading the river

Reading the River follows John Hildebrand as he paddles a canoe along a major river system in northwestern Canada and Alaska. The landscape is rendered in close, careful detail, and the people he meets along the way are drawn with a sharp eye. Along the banks he finds drifters who have dropped out to live at remote fish camps, kind-hearted young women in the towns, wary Indigenous residents of run-down villages, and crotchety old-timers.

The cast also includes heavy drinkers and self-appointed preachers, all of whom make their living from the wild country and its natural resources. The result is a portrait of a frontier where the land shapes everyone who depends on it.