Born of Hope

A fan film made and privately funded by enthusiasts of JRR Tolkien's LOTR, this prequel narrates the story of Arathorn, heir to Isildur's throne, and father of Aragorn, who would play a pivotal role in the Great War of the Third Age of Middle Earth. Although understandably far lacking in technical polish compared to the studio funded films, it is surprisingly heartfelt, well made and earnest. As best as can be expected, the cinematography, acting , film score, location shooting, production design and storyline are all very well done. The script also appears to be quite faithful to whatever Tolkien wrote about the Dunedain. In particular, Christoper Dane (a dead ringer for Sean Bean in many shots) and Kate Madison as Arathorn and Elgarain both play their parts superbly. Actually, I'm seriously so impressed by it. And if you're a fan of Tolkien's work, this is a must watch.

It is professional grade quality! Acting, editing, script, costumes, sets,music, make-up--it's all in the professional category. The only complaint I have is that I can't have the DVD in high def. It belongs very proudly on my shelf next to the LotR movies. It's clear that you all have futures in the moving making industry if you want them. You stayed close to the vision of Tolkien, and for that reason alone, I'm very grateful. That it is free to us is one of the greatest mathoms ever given, but I would gladly have paid to see this at the theater. Perhaps maybe one day.

Kate and crew...great work! You should be very proud. I'll be watching this often.

I was not expecting anything spectacular. How can you when it is only a fan-made independent film? But 'The Hunt for Gollum' was a lot better. Unlike the latter, 'Born of Hope' has an abysmally poor plot. While yes, the plot is at least in existence it does not really go anywhere, so you are not particularly interested in what is going to happen.

The acting was alright, even if it was hard to believe. The narrator was awful though. She ruined it for me.

The effects were good enough, and the costumes and the setting was commendable considering that the film was done on a shoe-string budget.

This is worth a watch, only if you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings. If not, you won't really enjoy it. Having said that, I am a fan and I was bored by it.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the short but sweet story from The Hunt for Gollum, I was delighted to experience another LOTR fan film - but this time from a different Director and ultimately from a different perspective.

Although perhaps in less style, this film packs a fuller storyline with greater substance than its independent predecessor. The romance is multi-layered; the action is smooth; the costumes and settings are fantastic; and the set is beautifully crafted to create the perfect homestead ambiance.

The characters are surprisingly well defined, for such a relatively short feature, and this is complemented well by two outstanding acting performances in particular - Christopher Dane (Arathorn) and Kate Madison (Elgarain).

Other than the above, I loved the script and was also surprised by a subtly professional music score.

All in all, the success of Born of Hope should encourage other independent film-makers to take hold of their own production reins and create individualistic, original and just plain enjoyable fan films.

I think that considering it's a low-budget film made by without big-name backing it"s not bad at all. Most of the acting is what you'd expect from this sort of thing, with somewhat wooden performances. The fighting scenes are actually rather good, and manage to convey a higher number of combatants than there actually are, without using computer-generated imagery. The Troll is rather pathetic, but I won"t hold it against them...

All in all, I have one major complaint - Beth Aynsley. She can't bloody act, she is very far from being beautiful (and yes, she is supposed to be) and she is the main reason I gave this film 6 stars. I truly cannot comprehend why the director (who BTW acts much better than Aynsley, in addition to being the producer and the director) chose her for the part...