Caminho de Pedras

The narrator of this story is supposedly the 13 year old, oldest son of the family the film is about, and he starts out by saying it's all true. Kathy Bates plays Mrs. Lacey, the mother to 5 children, the widow of an Irish Catholic SOB, as she repeatedly refers to him. They're poor, and on a lurch, pack up and leave their dumpy apartment in L.A. for who knows where. They end up in Idaho, working for a Japanese man who's also a widow, making a home out of a shack on his land. You see (feel) the struggles of a parent, a mother, and not only that, but a single parent and mother of 5 children who has practically no money. You see the relationships between siblings and between the children and their mother. You see the resourcefulness and hard work ethic of the mother, sometimes taken too far, to the detriment of her own children (shunning the priest's attempts at helping out with free clothes or food or Christmas presents). You see the struggles of the oldest boy, a 13 year old son, taking on responsibility as the "man of the house," yet also being told to go get his father's belt for whippings from his mother. The mother finds work in a bowling alley, and you see her struggles with dating the bowling pro who works there. Every penny meant so much to them, that when their house is burning down, the oldest daughter risks her life to run inside and find the money jar, and cries on her mother when she has to tell her she couldn't find it. One of the sons discovers a junk yard on the way home on the schoolbus and ends up making many visits, scavenging various items for the house, pulling it all the way home on a make-shift wagon. As someone else already commented, the Christmas morning scene is poignant, as is the ending of the film. The ending was just another beginning, I would think, for this family.

"A Home of our Own" is a film that shows the struggle of a poor woman with six children who has had it with her life in Los Angeles. When she loses her menial job, she decides to pack it and move on. We saw this film when it first came out, but watched it again when it showed on cable the other night. The film was directed by Tony Bill.

The best thing going for the movie is Kathy Bates. As the determined and strong Frances Lacey, she does amazing work. Ms. Bates, one of our best character actresses, is a joy in the film. One thing that comes clear is her love for her children and her determination to get ahead. By relocating in a remote area of Idaho, her gamble pays off. Not only is she able to succeed in getting her own home, thanks to the kind Japanese man who owns the land, but she gives the children a positive lesson on how to be somebody and to struggle for what they want. Edward Furlong, as Shayne, also makes a great contribution to the film.

Watch it because the heart warming story.

I know a lot of folks talked about this movie being so heartwrenching, and at time a tear jerker, but this movie is as close to my childhood as I can imagine. We weren't quite as poor, but I really grew up in a half-finished house and we were pretty tight on money. We never finished our house, but my mom sent three kids to damn good colleges and private schools while supporting us on a teacher's salary.

And Kathy Bates nailed it just right. I think that this movie portrays a lot of things about people who are struggling to get by, and it does it in a way that is very evenly balanced. I mean, her character is mostly sympathetic, but she shuts people out too. She's proud to a fault. She wants so much to do it all on her own, that she doesn't seem to realize just how much help she needs. That sense that she is all alone in it; that's how we felt. I'm sure that's how my parents felt. I liked how she found friends who knew how to handle her pride and still help her.

I loved this movie but it is hard for me to watch!

I never got nails for Christmas, though!

I think the bit about the disclaimer that this is all fiction is just the standard CYA language the lawyers put in at the end of every movie. There's lots of novels that are "fiction" that are true.

Kathy Bates(Frances Lacey)also "Misery'90), performed outstanding acting skills as a wonderful mother who just plain loved her children more than herself and was able to warm the hearts of many people she encountered, especially, Soo-Tek-Oho who owned a broken down shack and a few acres of land, which turned out to be a great Mansion for her children Edward Furlong(Shayne Lacey),"Three Blind Mice " Clarissa Lassig(Lynn Lacey) and a few more children. This film will warm your heart and soul and will definitely make you shed a tear or two. We need more picture of this caliber, which is a true story and down to earth and REAL!!

My wife is usually the only one in my family that will watch this type of movie. We call it a "mother's movie". But she got me at a weak moment and I watched it and I liked it a lot. I think that it was certainly Kathy Bates and Soon-Tek-Oh that kept it going. At the beginning the narrator states that it is a true story. I watched it with the thought that this was something that actually did happen. At the end of the credits it says that the above story is ficticious etc. with that usual speel. Now I don't know what to believe. Was it real or just made up. I wish I could find out the truth.