At first, the opening scenes of Oxyana are reminiscent of Robert Redford's beautifully shot Montana fishing film, A River Runs Through It.

Deer Tick guitarist John McCauley's haunting score—juxtaposed with cinematographer Hillary Spera's gorgeous images of rural West Virginia—harken to a bygone era when kids were free to roam through a rustic paradise.

The small town of Oceana may appear like thousands of other poor communities people pass by along North American highways, with their trailer parks, graveyards, and McDonald's restaurants. But the camerawork conveys something special. 

Only when residents start speaking does it become clear that Oceana is at the epicentre of a continentwide prescription-drug crisis.

The town's nickname has become Oxyana because of the massive toll taken by Oxycontin addiction. The popular pain killer is wiping out a generation of young adults who would ordinarily have earned their livelihoods in the coal-mining industry.

Young Brooklyn-based director Sean Dunne must have a way with people, because residents open up in the frankest ways possible. Addicts describe the deaths of friends and family in the most matter-of-fact manner. Mothers of young children leave no doubt that they're in the grip of Oxycontin. It's hard not to conclude that this prescription drug, which is often injected, has ripped a massive hole through the town.

Yet the residents, including numerous addicts, remain so damn likeable in their humility, honesty, and heartfelt love of community. Sophisticated city dwellers who like to scoff at rural America might come away with a slightly different impression after seeing this film.

It's not just the drug that's being featured; it's also the way of life in Appalachia, where there's an inherent mistrust of outsiders and a concomitant faith in prescription medications. These are simple folk with a fatalistic outlook on life.

Dunne and his crew have done a remarkable job shedding light on the Oxycontin scourge, which has largely gone under the radar screen in Canada.

This is no polemic, and there's no judgment. Only once does a resident question the war on drugs.

Instead, like many great documentaries, it allows viewers to draw their own conclusions.

The DOXA Documentary Film Festival presents Oxyana on Friday (May 10) at 9 p.m. at the Vancity Theatre.