Highway of Tears

Made in the last year Canada still had a government refusing to set up an inquiry into the epidemic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across the country, the documentary Highway of Tears (2015) attempts to shed light on an epicentre of the phenomenon that is still often overlooked. The Highway of Tears is a section of Highway 16, which runs through northern British Columbia, specifically between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Over 40 women have either been murdered or simply vanished there since 1969, yet the cases escaped national and police attention for years. Two serial killers responsible for some of the deaths, American Bobby Jack Fowler and Canadian Cody Legebokoff, have since been identified, but several cases remain unsolved and it seems likely other killers were active in the area.

The documentary Highway of Tears is an attempt to raise the profile of the case/cases, and explore root causes. These include systemic racism, as many of victims have been Aboriginal women, providing a reason why the RCMP and many Canadians assigned no importance to them. The contributing factor of poverty in Aboriginal communities and lack of public transportation is given as a reason why so many men and women hitchhiked and continue to hitchhike there.

Highway of Tears isn't a perfect approach to the issue. It tries to include a lot, sometimes without adequately explaining how some of the issues relate to the Highway of Tears, including residential schools (itself a national shame) and the Robert Pickton case. For all the mention of the individual tragedy, as well, there isn't too much examination of who more of the individual victims were. Despite its title, Highway of Tears is not a tear-jerker, although it's a valid argument that that may not be what they were going for. The doc is, nevertheless, a possible starting point for anyone willing to learn more about the epidemic of tragedy between Prince George and Prince Rupert.

I recently watched Highway of Tears (2015) on Tubi. The documentary follows a Canadian highway in Native American territory frequently traveled by truckers and people heading to Alaska. Unfortunately, this highway has been the site of numerous unresolved cases of missing and murdered Native American women for decades, with little to no resolution from local police.

Directed by Matt Smiley (For Love), the documentary provides an impressive backdrop and delves deeply into the storyline. There are fascinating subplots about Native American culture, their approaches to life, and thoughts on community. However, the interviewing and editing are inconsistent and could have been significantly better. The presentation of questions, gathering of information, and portrayal of locals could have been much improved.

In conclusion, Highway of Tears has a compelling story worth viewing, but better execution could have made it a masterpiece. I would score this a 6/10 and strongly recommend it.