East of the Mountains is a drama film directed by

SJ Chiro SJ Chiro is an American screenwriter and film director. She has made her feature film directing debut with ''Lane 1974'' in 2017 and later directed ''East of the Mountains'' in 2021. Career SJ Chiro was born and raised in Seattle, Washington ...

that premiered at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

in April 2021. It opened in September 2021 in US cinemas. The film is based on the novel ''

East of the Mountains ''East of the Mountains'' is a novel by American author David Guterson, first published in 1999, and in paperback in 2000. His second full novel, it marks something of a change of pace from the taut courtroom drama of ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' ...

'' by David Guterson.

Plot

Retired cardiologist Ben Givens lives in Seattle and has recently became a widower. After being diagnosed with cancer, he decides to end his life. He tells his daughter Renee he's going bird hunting on the dry steppes east of the Cascade Mountains for a few days, or, as he puts it: "I want to go back to my old stomping grounds." Ben drives to Eastern Washington with only a few belongings, his dog Rex, and a shotgun. On the way his SUV breaks down, but a couple of young rock climbers give him a ride to his destination. It was in this general region where he met and courted Rachel, the woman he would later marry, and the landscape is full of powerful memories which come back to haunt him.

Production

Thane Swigart adapted Guterson's novel for the film by. SJ Chiro directed it. Sebastien Scandiuzzi was the cinematographer.

Tom Skerritt Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', ''Top Gun'', '' A R ...

stars as Ben Givens. As a young man he is played by Jule Johnson. Victoria Summer Felix plays his late wife Rachel in flashbacks and Mira Sorvino plays their daughter Renee. Annie Gonzalez plays the veterinarian Anita Romero, to whom Ben brings his injured dog. Wally Dalton plays Ben's brother Aidan Givens. The shooting took place between June and July 2019. After most of the scenes were filmed in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

, including the

Columbia Plateau The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia ...

, further filming took place in Seattle, specifically the Ballard and Wallingford districts starting at the end of June. ''East of the Mountains'' had its first showing in April 2021 as part of the virtual Seattle International Film Festival.
East of the Mountains.
' In: siff.net. Retrieved 19 April 2021. Tom Skerritt received the festivals Cinema Award. On September 24, the film had its US general release.

Reception

All of the reviews recorded by

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

have so far been positive with an average rating of 7.1 out of a possible 10 points.

References

External links

* *
East of the Mountains
' in the Seattle International Film Festival program * * {{authority control 2021 drama films 2021 films American drama films Films based on American novels Films set in Washington (state) 2020s English-language films 2020s American films