O Sonho do Amor Perfeito

I know that the Janette Oke books that translate into films get a little heat because they tend to deviate from the books (They Killed Willie!) but they are really good films on their own. It's hard to find anything out there "period piece" wise that is good for the whole family.

This one centers on the whole "traditional" role vs. "progressive" role for females and Belinda must balance her desire to become a doctor vs. the views of her fiancé. Really kind of takes you back to a time when that was a big deal. It opened up a discussion between my young daughter and I when she asked, "Daddy, why don't they want her to be a doctor?" Again, this is another good one from the Oke series and the producers have a good study guide to accompany the film on their website FoxFaith.com.

Give it 9 out of 10 stars.

This is the sixth film in the faith based pioneer series called Love Comes Softly based on the books by Janette Oke. We go back to Andersons Corner where Belinda "Lindy" Tyler has become a well-read headstrong young woman who desperately wants to go to college to train to be a doctor. She has two things to overcome...being a woman in a man's profession and just getting in to a college and the money it costs to fulfill her dream.

When their local doctor is hiring Belinda rushes to apply only to be turned down because she is a woman and better suited to being a wife or nurse. When a wealthy woman has a stroke in her stage coach, Belinda helps in the treatment and therapy of Mrs. Stanford-Smythe.

It was nice to revisit some of our favorite characters in this faith based family series Clark Davis (the patriarch) played by Dale Midkiff through the entire series...he has a way of tearing up and delivering the most heartfelt lines, Missy played by Erin Cotrell in all but the first two films...her new husband sheriff Zach Tyler, played by Victor Browne...who was a delightful edition in the last film, although I still miss Logan Bartholomew who played her first husband Willie.

I think fans of the series will enjoy this film that was focused almost exclusively on Belinda and lawyer Drew Simpson.

Missie LaHaye (Erin Cottrell) teaches Sadie Kent to read despite her husband's disapproval. Adopted daughter Belinda Tyler (Scout Taylor-Compton) wants to be a doctor despite the era. She's dismissed by Dr. Micah Jackson (Robert Pine) and Drew Simpson from New York city. Drew's studying to be an attorney and looking to sell his inherited property. Belinda treats traveler Virginia Stafford-Smith after she had a stroke. Virginia has the opposite opinion about God after suffering devastating losses. Drew is torn falling for the tough-minded Belinda. Virginia offers to have Belinda educated in Boston.

This one centers on Belinda. Scout Taylor-Compton is a capable young actress. Belinda's connection with Virginia is very compelling. This is a Christian movie and I wouldn't mind more discussion about that here. There is a little too many stories. I probably would skip the literacy story. It's not that original. Belinda has so much story that it needs more time to breathe. A lot of it feels rushed and abrupt. It's a fine TV movie despite being the sixth in the series.

I've watched all the Love's...., Janette Oak based films and enjoyed them all. But..., It drives me crazy to see a supposed 35 year old widow - Missy - with long flowing locks running down her back. If she is like real women from that time, she should have tightly arranged hair - usually a single bun. Why can't American film makers get these things right? The British do it, so I find myself looking at the latter's shows much more often. Also, why do all the leads have to be beautiful or exceptionally handsome! Again, the British frequently have wonderful actors who have interesting looks, but could never be called beautiful or handsome.

In this series, my favorite was the first, Love Comes Softly, and here it seemed that the era was better captured without ridiculously coiffed or dressed actors. In this one, even the Belinda character seems out of the time. I did reluctantly rate this a seven, because I enjoyed the plot and thought the actors were fine, but I would have given it a 2 or 3 if it was being rated for historical accuracy.

Movies 1-4 had a real storyline that built off of each other, it was more then just a love story it had family values and hardships to overcome. Love's Unfolding Dream falls into the predictable trope that this series has become, the movie follows Balinda's dream to become a doctor while she falls in love with a guy. The only interesting part of the film was the doctor aspect of it, but the love story made it feel really cheesy and predictable. The music score again was too overpowering and downgraded the film. The biggest tease in the entire film was that they used the Dr. Quinn medicine Woman town set as the filming location for the movie. Dr. Quinn was a fantastic series with incredible acting, story line and filming, seeing the town made me want to stop watching Love's Unfolding Dream and put Dr. Quinn in the DVD player instead. Balinda falls incredibly short compared to Michaela Quinn.