Nils Gaup directed "North Star," a 1996 Western set in Nome, Alaska, during the gold rush of 1899. The film centers on James Caan as an unsympathetic businessman who refuses to honor mining claims made by foreigners and tries to eliminate a half-Native American man (Christopher Lambert) to seize control of a cave filled with gold—a site important for Native ceremonies. He also kidnaps the mogul’s girlfriend, portrayed by Catherine McCormack, who is recognizable from her role as Wallace's wife in "Braveheart" (1995). A pursuit across snowy terrain then begins. The movie incorporates elements reminiscent of other Western films like "Death Hunt," "Valdez is Coming," "The Far Country,” “North to Alaska” and "Dances With Wolves.” This isn’t surprising, though; what stands out is that it's among the few Westerns I know of that are primarily set in winter, aside from “The Great Silence” and “The Hateful Eight.” Films like "Will Penny," "Jeremiah Johnson,” “A Man Called Sledge" and others feature lengthy winter scenes. While Caan’s character is excessively villainous for my liking—though he plays the part effectively—I thought "North Star" was a solid Western, with one significant exception: the final 11 minutes felt hurried. I appreciated that this film highlighted winter conditions more than most Westerns I've seen. It should be noted that filming in snow is considerably more difficult than shooting in other seasons, especially when the location includes mountains. The scenery, sets and cast are all excellent, even if the storytelling has a somewhat comic-booky feel of a lower-budget production. It seems like the filmmakers rushed the conclusion; perhaps they were eager to finish the project and keep it under 90 minutes, or maybe they weren’t satisfied with the final scenes and tried unsuccessfully to piece them together in post-production. It isn't terrible, though, and didn't spoil my enjoyment of the movie. Ultimately, "North Star" is a worthwhile modern Western that tries something different while also referencing familiar genre conventions. The film has a running time of 88 minutes and was filmed in Norway. Five writers are listed for adapting Heck Allen’s novel. My grade: B-/C+ (5.5/10)

Source on TMDB