Kelly Reichardt’s radiant frontier fable is both fleeting and eternal. Set in the Oregon Territory of the 1820s, it’s a portrait of a friendship forged, as it ought to be, on kindness and baked goods.
The movie’s harsh Western landscape, where two poor travelers (played by John Magaro and Orion Lee) suggests a critique of capitalism as much as Ken Loach’s also excellent modern-day gig economy drama “Sorry We Missed You.” But the tenderness between them, despite it all, could hardly have felt more suited to the times.