At rigth: Playing the roles of a father and son who take a 1,000-mile canoe trip that was originally navigated by explorers Father Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673, actors Chase Moser (left) and Robert Cicchini shot scenes for the film “Water Walk” Wednesday, September 1, in St. Ignace at the Mackinac Bridge and Museum of Ojibwa Culture. The two actors pause outside of their car, strapped with the canoe used for the film's journey, after shooting a scene of crossing the Mackinac Bridge. Scenes for “Water Walk,” a film based on the book from Steven Faulkner that features a father and son who embark from the Straits of Mackinac on a 1,000-mile historical canoe trip, were shot in St. Ignace Wednesday, September 1, at the Mackinac Bridge and the Museum of Ojibwa Culture.

To be distributed in more than 130 theaters across the Midwest next summer, the independent film spotlights the original discovery trip taken by Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet between St. Ignace and St. Louis, Missouri, in 1673. The two explorers were the first to find and map the northern portions of the Mississippi River.

“This [trip] is the equivalent of Lewis and Clark, but it's never been seen on film,” said director Roger Drappoport, adding that the film is being shot over the course of 25 days in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The story revolves around a recently laid-off father and his 17-year-old son. Looking for an intense summer adventure, they decide to re-create the trip taken by Father Marquette in the 17th century, traveling west from St. Ignace on Lake Michigan's northern shore to Green Bay, up the Fox River, and south on the Mississippi River to St. Louis.

“This is important because it's where the movie begins,” Mr. Drappoport said of a scene being filmed of the father and son driving over the Mackinac Bridge to begin their trip in St. Ignace.

Along their 60-day journey, the duo encounters storms, rip currents, and dams, facing the hard facts about how difficult Father Marquette's trip was.

“They have to make a lot of portages,” Mr. Drappoport said, “which is why the movie is called Water Walk.”

The movie highlights the dynamic of a father and son who want to spend time together, but realize they have different expectations for the trip, said lead actor Robert Cicchini, who plays the role of the father in the film. While the son simply wants to have a fun adventure, he said, the father is focusing on doing the trip exactly how Father Marquette did.

The dynamic “is there to illustrate the disconnect between his character and my character that sort of gets resolved by necessity throughout the trip,” he said. “We're forced to work together, and then Justin brings it to a boiling point by addressing more deeper concerns about our relationship personally, and that breaks the ice.”

Chase Moser, who plays the son, said that the relationship provides an example of an adopted son who grows up feeling estranged from his father but has never addressed how he really feels.

“We have arguments about our family life and our own opinions about the trip, like who's going to paddle, and the whole adventure really shows how different we are. But then as it builds, we find out how similar we are and how we react to each other, and I think it's a pretty typical father and son relationship.

Mr. Cicchini, a veteran Hollywood actor who's participated in more than 25 feature films, said the low-budget movie attracted him for two reasons: Originally from Michigan, he's always had an interest in early explorers and the pioneer spirit of the Midwest, and he's also wanted to act in a familyoriented film.

“At its essence, this story's about people and families who don't communicate and the ramifications of that,” he said. “I think this is a typical story in the sense that the son has legitimate qualms and claims from his childhood that he doesn't question until now, and the father thinks that he's been doing everything right.

“There's this ships-passing-inthe night type of relationship; they play act that everything's OK, and when they're forced to be in a canoe together under arduous conditions, the truth surfaces.”

Along with the scenes from the film, a short documentary of Father Marquette's trip was shot at the Museum of Ojibwa Culture in St. Ignace. It is being produced by the Michigan Council for History Education. The documentary will be shown in third grade classrooms when the Mississippi discovery story is taught.