L'amore apre le ali

Two female doctors Haylie Duff and Sarah Jones come to Sikeston, Missouri and none too soon. The town is in the grip of an epidemic that appears to have started in the town orphanage. It's soon identified not as a kind of influenza as was thought, but the far more deadly cholera, most common back in a time of less sanitation.

Besides having to battle the usual Victorian prejudices about women in certain male only professions, both women especially Duff have their own demons to battle. Duff in fact is a recent widow who was unable to save her husband despite her medical training. Back two centuries ago, it was common for folks to die a lot younger.

The only real support they get is from the matron of the orphanage, Cloris Leachman and from Jordan Bridges the town blacksmith whom Duff gets romantically involved with. They have a week mayor in Patrick Duffy who wants to do the right thing, but is also mindful he has to go to these folks for votes later on. Sikeston also has a rabble rouser in Lou Diamond Phillips who lost family members and is willing to just throw the sick orphans on the street and out of town.

In addition to being the Grinch of the story, Lou Diamond Phillips also directs Love Takes Wing and gets nice performances from his cast. Particularly effective are the scenes with Haylie Duff and orphan Annalise Basso who bond quite nicely in the story and on the screen.

How do they deal with the epidemic? Well it seems that Johns Hopkins has developed a brand new technique for dealing with dehydration which is how cholera kills. I won't say, but I will say that nowadays it's something taken for granted.

Which shows you that even the most matter of fact and mundane things we have now are things that someone had to think up and bring about. And prove they work.

Love Takes Wing is a nice family film from the Hallmark Channel definitely worth a viewing.

This is a wonderful, endearing film which appears to be the beginning of a series on Hallmark network.

While it resembles the former Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman television show of years back, we need more of this quality, heartwarming tales.

Two female doctors venture forth to the west, this time Missouri. In a rural area, they encounter a cholera epidemic as well as the usual superstitions, prejudice and viciousness of a town in believing that the orphans caused the outbreak.

82 year old Cloris Leachman is just wonderful as a dedicated woman working in the orphanage. There is also fine acting by Patrick Duffy as the conflicted mayor of the town and by director Lou Diamond Philips, who also plays a heavy in the film.

One doctor soon finds a male interest and by the end of the show, they wed. Of course, just like Dr. Quinn, they adopt Lillian, a precocious youngster caught up in the epidemic, who acts like a young Florence Nightingale.

Looking forward to the continuation of this Love series.

Belinda comes into this movie with her husband having recently died from disease. As a result, Belinda is bitter with God. This faith based movie centers on her struggle.

In the previous movie, Belinda, as a teen, had a chip on her shoulder as she face a male dominated world with the dream of becoming a doctor. In this movie, that chip has become a mountain, and it makes her completely unequipped for the challenge before her. If she isn't facing enough of a challenge, her attitude can do nothing to help her deal with townspeople who are already suspicious of a stranger and a woman. It also doesn't make her winsome for the viewer.

Lee is a saint and a little too perfect, but he is likeable. Unfortunately, Belinda is so bitter, it's hard to see any chemistry.

Lou Diamond Phillips is the director and as an actor plays a character that is totally one dimensional. It is a terrible job of acting and only he can be responsible. None of the acting is outstanding. Sarah Jones shows almost no spark but much of that is the result of the character's bitterness.

The story is somber. There is a complication or two that really aren't altogether clear as to how they impact the outcome. Despite all the negatives, the underlying story comes through. Of course it is sappy, and ultimately predictable, but there is room to enjoy the finished product.

There is a scene near the end that has no subtlety whatsoever. When you see it, you'll know it.

The seventh part in the Hallmark's 'Love Comes Softly' movie series. Yet another satisfying movie with the convincing performances. I expected this part to take place in a city, but deliberately avoiding those things from happening. One thing from this series is crystal clear, that is the women and their live struggles in the countryside.

The story continued, but as usual once again the cast has been changed as the timeline did. After the medical graduation and her husband's death, the mourning Belinda returns to the rural life. In the town where everybody panicked for the sudden deaths, blames for the orphanage. Belinda's arrive brings a new hope, so would she stand and deliver what people are expecting is the remaining story.

The movie series is reached at a different level now. Comparing this to the first, not only the cast and characters changed, but the plot as well. So far the story was narrated moving forward to the next generation and their struggle. Now with this, a new view about the society and its causes. Well, there is a romance, but less focused on it to give a chance to explore on the fresh subject.

"I wouldn't be who I was today if I hadn't grow-up the way I did."

Of all the films, the cast was the best thing happened. The women were beautiful by appearance and excellent in character display. Particularly in this, Haylie Duff filled that part, but she's only been a sidekick and I hope she will return in the next as well. Because the character Belinda became more serious and professional. Refuses to blend in with the other characters, I mean in the human emotional way, in another word the chemistry is missing.

That's not how we remember the women of this film series. They are gentle, caring and liked by the other characters around them. So, feels the change has come, but does it go on like this in the following films is the question. The old lady who runs the orphanage was the main attraction in the performance. That is also my weakness, I always fall for when I see the older people struggle in their lives. The role was small, maybe won't return in the next, but one of the best in the entire series.

We have already talked about the deaths, especially the husband's, but the movie without a little girl is also impossible. It is kind of routine, without it the narration won't proceed, because they are the one who is going to lead in the follow-up films. In this the new girl, Lillian was introduced. The girl from one of my all time and favourite children's film 'Standing Up'. It was a wonderful role, but I already began to analyse her character's field of interest, because that's what the next narration going to be.

8/10

In the Old West, a young woman (Sarah Jones) arrives in Sikeston, Missouri, by stagecoach to take over as the town's physician. As she tries to figure out what disease is making people deathly ill, especially the kids in the orphanage, she develops a friendship with a helpful blacksmith (Jordan Bridges). Haylie Duff plays her colleague, Cloris Leachman the manager of the orphanage, Patrick Duffy the mayor and Lou Diamond Phillips a grim citizen. Lou also happens to direct.

"Love Takes Wing" (2009) had a budget of $2 million and debuted on TV (Hallmark), but it's worthy if you don't mind realistic Westerns that sneer at the Western staples of fast-draw shootouts and so forth. There are, to be expected, a couple of schmaltzy or predictable bits, but it's otherwise well-done and the drama keeps your interest.

I particularly liked the addition of intravenous therapy (aka IV), which inspired me to look up its history. I was in the hospital for several weeks years ago and was always hooked up to an IV. Now I know why. Diseases like Cholera kill through dehydrating the victim. Intravenous therapy ingeniously fixed the problem, but it's easy to take for granted now. This interesting and enlightening element took the movie to the next level for me.

Geographically, Southern Cal doesn't look anything like Missouri, but I guess it doesn't matter much since it's mostly a town-bound story. Yet the overall vibe is of the Southwest, which is a far cry from the milieu of the Show Me State.

This was the seventh film installment taken from Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly book series. It's followed by the last sequential film, Love Finds a Home, which debuted later the same year (not to mention two prequels in 2011). You don't have to see any of the other movies to view this one; it's self-contained and is the only one I've seen. Interestingly, none of the events depicted occur in the corresponding novel.

It runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot at Melody Movie Ranch in Newhall, California, which is the southern section of Santa Clarita, a 40-minute drive northwest of Los Angeles in the high country.

GRADE: B.