Along the Way

I only wish every person could get a chance to experience what I have with this movie. Never In my life have I had total strangers spend 15 30 minutes talking to me about something with such passion. Never in my life have I had people tell me that this movie can save lives. Do yourself a favor and find a place that is showing this film, it is so worth your time and money. This has the kind of realizm and heart that doen't happen very often and is so desperately needed

My expectations were incredibly low when I started watching this film for the first time. It came as a super-low-budget one-pound DVD that had horrible picture and sound quality, even for VHS standards, and absolutely no extras. Just the title, "The Haven", sounded naff to me.

It starts out as a rather unoriginal film, portraying the growing-up of four friends, and it tends to be rather superficial for the first quarter, but then... it really engulfs you.

25 minutes into the film, you have been introduced to the characters and you find yourself completely addicted to see how they solve their building conflict between eachother, their conflict with people around them and how they face the real world. You get so involved into the story and the characters that you eventually experience an emotional rollercoaster until the film ends. Despite being a tough, allegedly non-sensitive guy, it had me shedding a few tears and reflecting silently upon life a few minutes when the film had ended. The film just did not leave me. I still keep thinking about it now, months afterwards.

The most fascinating fact is that it boasts a group of terrific actors, and yet they are all more or less unknown. In my opinion, the strongest actor without doubt is Andrew Bowen, who portrays Jocko. His performance is simply brilliant, and gives the character a depth that I couldn't think possible. The other three actors are marvelous as well, but it was Bowen that captured my attention. When I then found out that Bowen also was the director and writer of the film, I gasped. Quite an undiscovered talent that deserves more recognition.

The most unbelievable thing about the film is that it seems so professionally construed yet has no decent DVD or video release anywhere. To later find out that it has not even reached the major cinemas and has no major distributor is shocking. As far as I'm concerned, the film could easily compete for Oscar or Academy Awards among the top films from major Hollywood studios.

Today, "the Haven" is one of my all-time favourite films. I recommend it to everyone, but they simply cannot get hold of it, which is a shame. I really hope a decent DVD studio gives it a proper worldwide release some day.

In any way, if you get the chance to see "The Haven", please do. It is truly rewarding and will in one way or another affect you - more than you think.

I was fortunate to grow up in a time when films really had something of substance and magic. The problem with Hollywood is no one wants to risk their company BMW and expense account to take a chance on this film. This film moved me to the point of tears and inspired me to call my best friends to let them know how important they are to me. The film infected me much like The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire did when I was younger. Andrew Bowen is one of the most talented actors in the business and could win an Oscar for this performance if given a shot. The amazing part is he co-wrote and directed the film as well. This film will see theatrical distribution because someone out there is going to take a chance on the merits alone in this impactive drama. I hope that it will be marketed enough to get the word out. Hollywood may be out of touch but the public will always respond to a powerful story.

Most people know talented actor and comedian Andrew Bowen from his short time on FOX-TV's sketch TV show, "Mad TV." Unfortunately they more than likely have not learned about him as the producer/director and head writer of a self-produced film from 2000 called "The Haven." "The Haven" is a loving and poignant story of four friends and the the trials and tribulations of what their "circle of life" has meted them from their chance meeting in grade school, the carefree days through high school and college, and that awkward time between late adolescence and the beginning of "the rest of their lives." The story also honestly depicts the not-so-fun underbelly of the realities of life and relationships when maturing personalities clash. While "The Haven" has many moments most audience members can relate to, the script has its moments of implausibility from a storytelling standpoint, and moments of way-over-the-top overracting especially as it relates to the four boys' relationships and conflicts to their outside world (parents, girlfriends, etc.). These moments unfortunately distract from the intent of the main storyline and are compounded by what some may view as totally unmotivated gratuitous violence and possibly mar what could have been a "great" movie into a "good" movie. Despite this, "The Haven" is an a notable artistic achievement from Andrew Bowen and one can only hope he will be able to capitalize on this milestone of a project in his future endeavors on his obvious talents as an actor "and" producer/director/writer.

this movie took you on a journey--and you absolutely can't stop thinking about it when it's over. you want the four of them to find their way and stay friends forever. the music is one of the most amazing aspects of this movie. it is beautifully written and perfectly coincides with the story so much that sometimes you don't even notice that it is the notes of the music that carry you from one scene to the next. i recommend this film to anyone looking to watch a story that affects you long after the movie is over. thank you for such a great effort towards making a quality film about the things that are the most important parts of life: friendship and loyalty