East of the Mountains

Amazing, moving, huge interpretation by Tom Skerritt. This movie shows how it is still possible to make simple but at the same time extremely beautiful movies. By the way, I wished trailers stopped trying to make every single movie look like a Disney or Bourne Identity adventure. A trailer for this one should just show the calm, the tranquility, the relaxing and moving scenes and music....

Well acted, if slow moving vehicle, that illustrates one man's battle with himself to be in charge of his own destiny despite the imminence of death from terminal cancer. Watch as he distances himself from others as he prepares to end his own life, the only way he thinks he can be the captain of his life. During his journey, he finds that there are other imperatives pulling him a different direction. Which force will win?

Tom Skerritt pulls off a masterpiece of acting in this beautiful film. We were glued to it from start to finish. If you're looking for an action film, this isn't it. This is a powerful and meaningful film with beautiful cinematography. It shines.

Filming was beautiful; camera work great; it takes a skilled director to keep you waiting for what happens next when it's done in such an understated manner. Multilayered. Emotionally moving.

This film belongs to the group of elegiac journeys taken by old (mostly) men nearing death, and attempting to reconnect with their past, family, and unresolved issues. If you liked Alexander Payne's "Nebraska," or David Lynch's "The Straight Story," you will probably like this movie. It features everything you could hope for in this genre, gorgeous cinematography, first-rate acting, a perfect musical soundtrack, and a story that is just complex enough to avoid being predictable, but I found satisfying.

Just as an aside, Tom Skerritt is old enough to have served in the Korean war, as his character reveals, but the story could also be the final chapter in the life of Duke Forrest from the 1970 film, M. A. S. H.