Arctic Son (2006) User Reviews

a heartwarming documentary about a father and son who in the beginning share nothing more than a name, but find that they have things to learn from each other

[laurenslattery · 10/10 · 24 April 2006]

How does the saying go? You can take the person out of the city, but you cant take the city of the person. Such is the same, or so it seems, for Stan Jr. as we follow him on his journey to Old Crow (a town above the arctic circle) to reunite with his father. You can't help but wonder if Stan Jr. will make it in a place so far and so different from home and you just have to sit back watch to find out whether or not he will. The most touching thing about this film, is watching this father/son duo realize their mistakes and try to make them right. It's a wonderful story that makes you believe in second changes and the possibility for not only change, but reconciliation. This film is not all serious, but not all fun and games either (it has the right amount of comedy, thanks often to the awkward silence between the two Stan's, mixed in it to break the mood). I highly suggest seeing this film... you won't regret it.

Wonderful and from the heart

[Bub_the_zombie · 10/10 · 27 August 2007]

This is a great documentary. I was captivated from the beginning. I saw so much of Stan Jr. in myself that it was uncanny. This film leads us through the reunification of a father and son after 20 odd years as the son visits his dad in Old Crow - an old and dying settlement in the Yukon. Jr. comes from the city and likes to drink and party. There's absolutely nothing in common between the father and son. As the film goes by, we see a subtle transition in the way Jr. thinks, and a certain realization by Senior that if left alone to do a job, Jr. is certainly capable of doing it. One can see through the entire film that Senior so desperately wanted to make up for the lost years by teaching his son his own way of life. That was Senior's way of showing love. Jr. finally realizes this as the film goes on. The uncanny thing is, at the end of the film, and after he has returned home - back to drinking and partying with friends, he missed Old Crow and the snowy landscape of the Yukon - The hard and cold work. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who likes heartfelt documentaries.