Takes place in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Here, the lure of fast money from smuggling presents a daily challenge to single moms who would otherwise be earning minimum wage. Two women - one white, one Mohawk, both single mothers faced with desperate circumstances - are drawn into the world of border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River.

Sony Pictures Classics purchased "Frozen River," trade papers reported, for under $1 million. Juror Quentin Tarantino described the film, starring Melissa Leo and Misty Upham, as "a wonderful depiction of poverty in America."

"It took my breath away and then somewhere around the last hour, it put my heart in a vice and proceeded to twist that vice until the last frame," Tarantino said.

Takes place in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Here, the lure of fast money from smuggling presents a daily challenge to single moms who would otherwise be earning minimum wage. Two women - one white, one Mohawk, both single mothers faced with desperate circumstances - are drawn into the world of border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River.