The Secret Path

This was a wonderful movie. I loved it & yes it did make me cry. The movie is set in rural Tennessee. It's about a poor, unloved & unwanted little white girl & her black neighbors, who are older & very loving & nurturing to her. The story is being told by the girl, who is now grown up, to her daughter. Her story begins with her birth on a stormy rainy night during the depression. The girls grandfather is a no good, drunk who takes the baby as soon as she is born and drives off with her & leaves he beside the road in the rain. But to his surprise someone brings the baby back & leaves her on the front porch of their house. The grandfather is very mean to the girl through out her childhood & even beats her & tries to get her involved in prostitution when she is only 14 (to support the family), but the girls refuses & fights back. It is her neighbors who take her in & lovingly care for her, but they must bring her back because she is white & they are black. The old black woman (Della Reese) lets the no good grandfather know that she is the one who brought the girl back when she was a baby & she won't stand for him beating her. I won't give it all away, but this is one you really will enjoy watching. I'd never heard of it before, but it is the best movie I've seen in a long time. I highly recommend it. A great family movie. Della Reese was superb! I give it a 10!

The secret path, saw it today on Lifetime. Oh my goodness, what can I say except I loved it. I thought the story was so sad and yet there was hope laced throughout the story. Just when you think it can't be any worse, the child runs towards hope and love.

I was glued to the TV and when they reran it, watched it again. I cried, I got upset, I got angry and I came to the internet to find a book on it, wondering about those unanswered questions. I did find the book online, and it seems so much more than the movie, so much more abuse really happened to the character JoAnn in real life than the movie dictates. I've ordered the book and am waiting anxiously to read it.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone to see. As an sexually abused child it touched a few nerves, and yet ended up same as my life, on an uplifted note. Hope. Healing. Learning. Self mending.

Special note the family actors playing the lead role at different ages was a brilliant idea. Kudos.

To the real Joann, I'm glad you sought help, and I'm so very glad Dr. Evans could help you. I hope you only see and find joy in your life, and when life isn't so great, know that there's an entire world that wishes you all the best the world has to offer, be well.

Book - Childhood's Thief : One Woman's Journey of Healing from Sexual Abuse By: ROSE MARY EVANS (Think it's out of print BTW)

This was an unadvertised gem put on in Australia as a trivial midday movie.

Viewing it reminded me of the impact that "Colour Purple" had when I watched it among a large audience many years ago. That movie profoundly affected me & others around me I observed. But this movie that I'd never heard of, clearly makes a similar impact but in its unique way on its individual subject matter.

I cannot understand why it was not glorified for the inspiring & dramatic suspense that unfolds effortlessly as the characters each do their thing, acting & reacting like ping pong balls in a vacuum. Nothing is contrived. But the willful spirit of the young girl who initially bewilders her wise Negro friends she meets by chance, proves to be a catalyst of emotion, both for the participants on screen, & viewers who are drawn to be MORE than passive detached observers.

"Chasing Secrets" ("The Secret Path") surely will leave a massive impact upon the soul of most anyone who dares to be open to a wonderfully uplifting experience of the best in humanity, even in such strongly adverse circumstances. One of the few times I have ever felt so moved was when I read Harper Lee's classic novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" which has echoed through my heart & soul occasionally, like a welcomed breeze, over the 20-25 years since!

The passion of this beautiful Negro lady, as protagonist of exceptional insight in her pain & past, supported by her soul-mate & husband in their lives of accumulated hardship, activated by her young unlikely friend evolving, transform the injustice layered in the drama, but even more so, the viewer, as the comments of other viewers here at the IMDb website, likewise reflect.

This magnificent movie is not to be missed!

When I started watching this film I had no idea it was going to have such an impact on me.

I'm not much into what some may call tear jerquers, but this film really impacted on the way that I'll see such film in the future. The combination of superb acting,, the overall story, and the personal touch from the characters, made for a superb film experience.

The story consist of a neglected young white girl, from a family who's patriarch grandpa Foley mistreats her and tries to force her into prostitution, and into hustling soldiers for money. She resists , and find the love and affection she didn't get at home in a black childless couple , excellently played by Ossie Davis, and Della Reese.

The bond that develops between the girl during the ages of 7 and 14 is really unique, equally moving is that despite coming from a dysfunctional family she becomes under the guidance of the couple a fine young lady.

This is a film that should be watched by all. The storyline is among the best I've watched.

I know the real little girl portrayed in this movie. I grew up with her. As an adult she would appreciate the comments about how you were moved by the movie. She was involved with the book in the hopes of helping people who went though similar situations. . If you have the time please read Childhoods Thief by Rosemary Evans.