The Lost Child

I enjoyed this film overall the story appealed to me personally since I'm adopted out as well but I had a lot of problems with the production and casting. Mercedes Ruehl is a fine actress but no way does she look Navaho. All the Navaho's I know are big round people at best Mercedes could past as some northern tribe Sioux or Chickasaw but never Navaho and certainly not from full-bloods, (is there not enough native actresses out there for this role) I thought the actress who played her eldest daughter was very good. She definitely had one of the funnies lines of the movie something like 'yes but the white half has to get more sleep' sorry you have to see it to understand, I though she acted very well and delivered the line well too but again she was about as much skin (meaning native) as she was black. So the movie suffered for me because I couldn't believe that they were any part Dine'.

There is a lot in this movie. Not just a wide variety of emotions but also different cultures, different places, different circumstances, different people. And yet unless you dig into these different things and absorb them, the movie will seem very slow in a lot of places.

Rebecca's backstory is pretty sad. Apparently she was a Navajo baby who was stolen from a hospital. Then she was passed from family to family which seems strange since someone went to the trouble to steal her. Finally she finds a mother who wants to keep her and when Becky is a teen, mom dies. When dad remarries, the new wife doesn't want her. At one point there is a scene in the rain where Becky's words to the new wife just sucked breath out of me, they were so heartbreaking. She wanders in life for a while finally marrying a good man and raising two daughters.

In searching for her twin brother, Becky finds relatives who are Navajo, including her father and sisters. That's when cultures clash. For most part the clash isn't violent, but still difficult. A shock. Becky makes choices that are difficult and create a lot of tension. The life she is choosing is not easy. She's finding that being Navajo is not easy.

In the latter half of the movie there are situations that increases the drama and the tension so that the pace doesn't seem so slow.

I found it interesting that the very last movie I watched had Jamey Sheridan in it and there were several parallels that were striking. The parallels in both involved his character's daughters. Another thing I found very interesting is the juxtaposition of ethnicities. This Navajo girl is raised Jewish.

The acting is good by many of the players. But what is striking about the movie is the depth it goes into on a variety of subjects. It is not a fun movie and much of it is not upbeat, but it is a good one. My rating reflects more how I felt about the tone rather than the quality of the movie.

"The Lost Child" is the story of Rebecca, a woman who is looking for her birth family. She posts inquiries (sp) over the Internet, and finally gets a response from a Navajo woman named Grace, who turns out to be her sister.

Rebecca goes out to visit the family, and meets her father, Yazzi Monroe, as well as Grace and her other sisters, and her extended family. From there, she gets pulled into the culture. Her husband and two daughters, however, are not fond of rez life, but they go anyway.

I videotaped this movie the night it aired on television, and watched it several times. Keep your eyes open for the beautiful Irene Bedard ("Smoke Signals") as Grace, and Mercedes Ruehl ("Frasier") as Rebecca. The scenery is beautiful, as well.

But, one thing is the problem, and that is on this message board. I don't know what all the fuss is about this being unrealistic?

I can understand the question of why Rebecca doesn't continue to search for her long-lost twin, but you have to understand that she was excited about meeting her birth father, and birth sisters. For what we know, she may have looked into the matter afterwards.

And as for no one wanting to move to the reservation, I can say that I would in a second. Whenever I go to the rez to visit family, I get a strange, yet good, feeling, something I would never feel in my native Pennsylvania. Heck, in a years time, I'll be living the good life on the rez, without any regrets.

Excellent film. Mercedes Ruehl gave an excellent performance as Rebecca. One of the outstanding features of this film is the demonstration that people can succeed in spite of childhood rejection. Scenery was gorgeous. I have viewed this film several times and each time I am inspired by its content, quality, and Rebecca's persistence in finding her natural family. I plan to read the book.

I sat down with a little scepticism for this movie. The description of the movie on the television guide did not sound that appealing. However, after a slow start in the first 20 or so minutes I really got into it.

The movie is about this woman who was adopted as a child, and then as a married adult with kids of her own, decides to start looking for her birth family. She finds them in a native American reservation!

As I have friends in the US who are native American and I have been told many stories about their traditions I was very impressed with how they conveyed that culture on the screen.

You may also recognise the grandmother. She was in Dr Quinn Medicine Woman as Cloud Dancing's wife.

I highly recommend this movie!