MovieChat Forums > The Frozen Ground (2013) Discussion > Looking for an outsider's input...

Looking for an outsider's input...


I have lived in and around Anchorage, AK my whole life. During the scene where Cindy sees the moose outside, what were your thoughts?

My husband and I couldn't help but wonder if people not from the area would think this was some mystical spirit animal type of scene.

The fact is, we see moose wandering around downtown routinely - the only thing that I found out of the ordinary was the antlers, as we don't see a lot of those in town.

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As I'd never been north of Calgary, I guess I'd consider myself an outsider. Amusingly, I thought, you gotta love it. Prostitutes and a moose on the snowy streets of downtown Anchorage.

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"Into every life a little coffee must spill."

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Having seen a few of those Alaska State Trooper shows, my actual response was "Can you imagine that, and then imagine it being rather routine? Freakin' Alaska, babe."

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I knew it was a symbolic scene, but I never thought it was taking place outside the realm of reality. I kind of figured a moose finding its way into the city isn't at all unheard of in Alaska.

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http://aredo3604gif.tumblr.com

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Ya, it happens all the time.
Last winter I was visiting family in Anchorage and one night we watched a huge moose wander down the street.

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Haven't seen the movie yet, but saw your thread. I live in the western US and we have moose rambling around. They scare me in real life, they're massive creatures. But very peaceful if left alone.

What I haven't seen is an impressive stag with a full rack or caribou.

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[deleted]

An outsider's input:

It was winter, so I figured the moose was hungry, as the snow (and ice) were covering all that he could eat.

It didn't surprise me, and I didn't think for a minute that the moose was mystical at all.

It just looked like an establishing shot, as it sets the place and time:

Alaska, Anchorage and snowy, cold Winter.

(And, the animal is a wild, untamed creature. Somewhat like the killer. But the movie never came to establish that analogy.)

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I see it like that too and I'm from Germany.
Here we have foxes and boars running through the cities at night and in the early morning hours.
I heard other countries have raccoons and bears doing so. Haven't heard of moose doing that but I was only surprised that it didn't made a move away from the human. Seemed pretty close.

I'm glad we don't have them here... too large for my taste ^^

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Lincoln Lee: I lost a partner.
Peter Bishop: I lost a universe!

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I'm definitely an outsider, but i definitely didn't see the scene or the animal itself as mystical either.

To me, the moose was a reflection of Cindy's character, where they were both alone and out of place, and just happened to be at the same place at the same time. I felt like the look in Cindy's eyes was her seeing herself in the moose

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So it was symbolically(better word than mystical) representing Cindy.

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yeah I'd like to think so. coz even if you're local, i can't imagine seeing a moose out in the city like that is normal. You'd probably at least stand there and admire it for a quick second. So Cindy did, and i think she was shocked to see the moose at first too, and then it made her realize that she was just like that moose, all alone, in a place she shouldn't be.

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Except it happens all the time in a lot of cities in Alaska.
It's very normal.
And yes, for a second you stand and admire it. But your first instinct is to see how aggressive it is - then you decide to watch and admire or find safety.

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I like that description. Thanks.

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I'm an outsider, but have a friend who lives in Anchorage. I've heard about moose wandering in neighborhoods.

But during that scene all I could think of were the stories of how frequent it is for people to be attacked by moose in town (although i understand it's usually cows defending their calves). So the whole time I was just thinking how dangerous it is for the Cindy character to get close to a moose, or to cross its path.

That scene didn't make me feel all peaceful/natural/gooey/mystical like the coyote scene in 'Collateral' -- it just made me nervous and jumpy.

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