10/10
Incredible Family Film
27 February 2012
Very few films have ever been made that touch the hearts of people from young children to senior citizens. At 60 yrs old, I've seen virtually all of the boy and dog TV Shows & movies from the original Lassie series (1954) to Old Yeller (1957) on through present day. This film beats them all. Don't look for foul language, nudity, or extreme violence that are so prevalent in movies today. This film didn't need them. It is perfect just as it is, standing on it's own with a great story line, acting, cinematography and scoring.

Excellently written. Angus does exactly what a 16 year old kid would do that has reasonable knowledge in survival skills and is lost in the wilderness: He stays put for several days, then afraid he will not be found in that location, he leaves a message where he is headed, then heads off in that direction trying to find his way to the lighthouse he saw before their boat capsized. In the process, he makes several mistakes that any kid his age would make. He tries to stay strong, but has those moments when fear of not making it overtake him.

Jesse Bradford plays the role of the lost 16-year-old boy with impeccable realism, from the wide shots to the extreme closeups that bring the viewer right into his eyes and emotions. The supporting actors, from his parents, to little brother, to rescuers are excellent. They don't attempt to steal the movie, but are incredible as supporting actors.

The cinematography is second to none, sparing no expense to capture the beauty of British Columbia but never missing the intimate, personal actions and close-up emotions of Angus and Yellow Dog.

The music score and ambient background sounds are amazing. If anyone wants to study how a movie of this genre should be scored, this is the movie to study. You can watch the entire movie and never even notice the music or the ambient background sounds. That is the real test of these two areas of film making. They are there to enhance, but not overtake the movie, and that is accomplished in this film.

If you want to watch a film that will touch your heart and that you don't have to be embarrassed by it's content when you have children or parents or grandparents suddenly walk in, this is it.
7 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed