Fly Away Home (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Following the untimely death of her mom in a car accident in New Zealand, 13 yr. old Amy (Anna Paquin, of The Piano) moves to rural Ontario, Canada to live with her estranged dad, Thomas (Jeff Daniels) in 'Fly Away Home' (a stirring drama directed by Carroll Ballard, Black Stallion). Self-absorbed sculptor/wilderness conservationist Thomas feels doesn't feel up to the task of helping Amy cope with her grief. And Amy, in turn, is resistant to any of his futile attempts to help her adjust to this new life that she didn't ask for. Before long, a developer illegally destroys a nearby marsh, and Amy rescues an abandoned nest of 16 goose eggs.
When they hatch, the goslings 'imprint' on Amy because she is the 1st creature they see and assume that she is their mother. Nurturing these cute little things lightens Amy mood. But being a 'mother goose', of sorts, carries with it some great responsibilities: she learns that she must teach her geese to fly & migrate south for the long winter. Thomas, his lovely girlfriend (Dana Delany), his nerdy brother (Terry Kinney), & a fellow friend (Holter Graham) come up with a crazy scheme involving 2 motorized gliders & a 600-mile, 4-day trip from Ontario down to North Carolina. Perhaps this project could be the thing to bond Amy & her father together ... but they {and the geese} would have to survive the dangerous journey first.
'Fly Away Home' is beautifully directed by Carroll Ballard; who also tackled a child + animal story -- the great Black Stallion from 1979. The story is based on experiments being conducted to save endangered species of birds by altering migration paths because customary routes have become treacherous and/or the destination habitats have been destroyed. But before we get to that aspect of the film, the human drama must be addressed and, boy is the opening sequence is a disconcerting one {the silent car accident that takes place while a soft melody plays in the background}. Right from the get-go, the film tells us that this 'family film' will hit us & hit us hard. Yes, there's adventure & adorable animals, but there's also pathos & sobering human drama.
On a technical level, 'Flay Away Home' blew me away. The editing of the sequences involving any human with the geese is bang-on; catching all the wonderful moments btwn. them all couldn't have been easy. Caleb Deschanel's sweeping camerawork is glorious. I sat in awe just looking at the amazing rural landscapes. And those majestic shots of the geese soaring beside the motorized gliders along the horizon line was just incredible. Mark Isham provides a lovely, sensitive musical score. And there's a melancholy song titled 10,000 Miles sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter that plays over a particular sequence that moved me to tears. There's something about that song, man. It's haunting, beautiful, and just got me in the throat.
The heart of the film is that slow, ever-growing relationship btwn. father & daughter; which also coincides with Amy teaching the basic necessities of survival to her goslings -- humans & animals can assist & love one another. As Amy shows a good deal of care for her goslings, over time, Thomas learns to show such care & consideration for his daughter. And she begins to respond. As they work together for the same goal {helping the geese}, Amy starts to heal from the loss of her beloved mom & mend matters with dad -- that's just beautiful to watch. This touching film made me smile, cry, & take me to places I hadn't seen before.
When they hatch, the goslings 'imprint' on Amy because she is the 1st creature they see and assume that she is their mother. Nurturing these cute little things lightens Amy mood. But being a 'mother goose', of sorts, carries with it some great responsibilities: she learns that she must teach her geese to fly & migrate south for the long winter. Thomas, his lovely girlfriend (Dana Delany), his nerdy brother (Terry Kinney), & a fellow friend (Holter Graham) come up with a crazy scheme involving 2 motorized gliders & a 600-mile, 4-day trip from Ontario down to North Carolina. Perhaps this project could be the thing to bond Amy & her father together ... but they {and the geese} would have to survive the dangerous journey first.
'Fly Away Home' is beautifully directed by Carroll Ballard; who also tackled a child + animal story -- the great Black Stallion from 1979. The story is based on experiments being conducted to save endangered species of birds by altering migration paths because customary routes have become treacherous and/or the destination habitats have been destroyed. But before we get to that aspect of the film, the human drama must be addressed and, boy is the opening sequence is a disconcerting one {the silent car accident that takes place while a soft melody plays in the background}. Right from the get-go, the film tells us that this 'family film' will hit us & hit us hard. Yes, there's adventure & adorable animals, but there's also pathos & sobering human drama.
On a technical level, 'Flay Away Home' blew me away. The editing of the sequences involving any human with the geese is bang-on; catching all the wonderful moments btwn. them all couldn't have been easy. Caleb Deschanel's sweeping camerawork is glorious. I sat in awe just looking at the amazing rural landscapes. And those majestic shots of the geese soaring beside the motorized gliders along the horizon line was just incredible. Mark Isham provides a lovely, sensitive musical score. And there's a melancholy song titled 10,000 Miles sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter that plays over a particular sequence that moved me to tears. There's something about that song, man. It's haunting, beautiful, and just got me in the throat.
The heart of the film is that slow, ever-growing relationship btwn. father & daughter; which also coincides with Amy teaching the basic necessities of survival to her goslings -- humans & animals can assist & love one another. As Amy shows a good deal of care for her goslings, over time, Thomas learns to show such care & consideration for his daughter. And she begins to respond. As they work together for the same goal {helping the geese}, Amy starts to heal from the loss of her beloved mom & mend matters with dad -- that's just beautiful to watch. This touching film made me smile, cry, & take me to places I hadn't seen before.