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Grey Owl
Grey Owl“Living life as a North American Indian
  in the wilds of Canada, a British man
  has left civilisation behind; making his
  home among the natives, embracing
  their ways and working as a hunter,
  a guide and writing magazine articles
  until someone threatens to expose him
  as a fraud in Grey Owl...”

BORN ARCHIE BELANEY, the man who lives as a North American Indian in Canada and is known by his adopted people as Grey Owl (Pierce Brosnan), left his home town of Hastings, Sussex, England, in the early 1900s and followed his dream of completely immersing himself in the Indian way of life.

In 1934, a wealthy patron suggests he should write a book (Pilgrims Of The Wild by Grey Owl); and soon after he sets out on his work as a trapper. He is approached by Gertrude Bernard (Annie Galipeau), a lovely young Mohawk woman who is known by her family as Pony and who has been brought up in town, approaches him and begs him to take her with him.

“A superb showcase
for North American Indian
life, a man’s
determination to follow
his dream and
the savagely-beautiful
Canadian countryside.
A mesmerising
and poignant film with
a believable, empathetic
performance from
Pierce Brosnan...”
Pony wants to get to know her people and understand her ancestors, but having shown her his village on Bear Island where he lives with his adopted father, Chief Pete Misabi (Jimmy Herman) and his adopted brother Ned White Bear (Nathaniel Arcand), he refuses to allow her to accompany him on his dangerous trek across a wild and harsh land. Pony's father, Jim Bernard (Graham Greene), also wants her to return with him.

Pony has other ideas and follows Grey Owl and, after he tries again to make her go home, she gets her way following a near-disastrous accident. She is aghast at the way makes his living trapping the Beaver for their pelts but he argues that he needs to make a living.

When Pony rescues two little Beaver cubs — "Little Talking Brother" to the Indians — Grey Owl finally begins to think about saving the endangered Beavers. With Pony's help, he follows a new path that still enables him to be true to himself — a deep and genuine desire to live the life in his heart. But there are some who will not let his apparent deception lie and want to expose him for the Englishman he once was…

Grey Owl is based on Archie Belaney's true story and this classic adventure biopic is a wonderful story about a man whose passion for the Indians and for the beautiful and wild country brings him to public prominence. As Grey Owl is a trapper, brief scenes of animal hunting are shown, although thankfully not graphic. Brief female nudity and brief scenes of a sexual nature.

A superb showcase for North American Indian life, a man's determination to follow his dream and the savagely-beautiful Canadian countryside. A mesmerising and poignant film with a believable, empathetic performance from Pierce Brosnan.

Grey Owl also features: Stewart Bick as Cyrus Finney; John Duinn-Hill as Sim Hancock; Renée Asherson as Carrie Belaney; Stephanie Cole as Ada Belaney; David Fox as Jim Wood; Vlasta Vrana as Harry Champion; Gordon Masten as Gus Mitchell; and Floyd Crow Westerman and Saginaw Grant as Pow Wow Chiefs.

Grey Owl's wistful Music is Composed by George Fenton; Director of Photography is Roger Pratt, BSC; Costume Designer is Renée April; Co-Producer is Diana Hawkins; Producer Canada is Claude Léger; Produced by Jake Eberts and Richard Attenborough; and Directed by Richard Attenborough.

* Grey Owl is released in the UK from Odyssey on DVD on 15 September 2014. Running Time: 113 Minutes | Catalogue Number: DVD OD570 | RRP: £9.99.

"Grey Owl… A superb showcase for North American Indian life, a man's determination to follow his dream and the savagely-beautiful Canadian countryside. A mesmerising and poignant film with a believable, empathetic performance from Pierce Brosnan" — Maggie Woods

"Brosnan is excellent… the film abounds with genuine pleasures" — Sight and Sound