The Trail

After a tragedy, a young woman (Jasmin Jandreau) is left alone in the remote woods during the mid-1800's California Gold Rush. Can she survive and make it to civilization?

"The Trail" (2013), aka "Let God," is obviously a low-budget Western in light of the miniscule cast and limited setting & events, plus a couple of obvious anachronisms, like zippers on a pair of boots, which weren't even invented until 1893, not to mention goofs (a visible crew member and boom mic, both of which you have to actually look for to notice). Despite these shortcomings, this is a professionally made film with quality locations, an effective score and a decent lead actress. It successfully brings you to that time & place and lets you see what it was like for many settlers.

If you like settler/survival-oriented Westerns like "Meek's Cutoff" (2010), "Gold" (2013), "The Homesman" (2014) and "The Revenant" (2015), you'll likely appreciate "The Trail," although it's not as polished or eventful as the latter, which was a blockbuster. Unlike all of those modern Westerns, however, it shoots for something deeper, something spiritually profound, although it's utterly subdued until the very end. It's this particular aspect that makes the movie for me.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in the Lake Tahoe area, California, with some stuff done in Southern Cal (Temecula & Landers).

GRADE: B-

If you're going to make a list of every historical inaccuracy every time you watch a film, be prepared for some serious hand pain. Relax and enjoy the story.

I thought this was a refreshing take on the westward migration and the difficulties that accompanied. The lead actress does a wonderful job, and it's nice to see a strong female character face real adversity. This story isn't told through CGI or through the jaw-dropping special effects to which we've all become so accustomed. It asks the viewer to focus, become drawn in, and join her on her journey through physical trials, and questioning beliefs.

I will not go on to spoil any plot points, but we thought this was a wonderful family movie with genuine emotion and a nice message. I highly recommend this movie.

This movie has taken a lot of heat for historical inaccuracies and unrealistic circumstances (among other things). Still, it offers a good moral theme and does tell a compelling story without ruining the aforementioned with some sort of predictable, clichéd ending. It's worth a watch if you're the more patient type of viewer who enjoys an intellectual movie experience. Sit back and employ your "film reading" skills with this one. There's lots of symbolism. Though it does fall short on the type of action sequences that less sophisticated, mainstream audiences require these days, it does not disappoint with tension.

It helps to like the old west and survival. The acting was ok, but it's more about the story. And our faith in God above. I teared up more than once and the end was powerful. God is always with us. And if you ever doubt that, then watch Him work!

This is a small independent film and considering the small budget, it is excellent. The main theme of the film is thought provoking-Does God exist and does He care? The main character of the movie, a young married woman is coerced, by her patriarchal husband and the social dictates of the day, to set out on the Oregon Trail and find their piece of the Garden of Eden. Her husband is a controlling buffoon, insisting that they secretly leave (she is instructed that she not tell her family-maybe so that they will not intervene?) and eventually she acquiesces, as she is a Godly young woman. Her headstrong husband eventually leaves the protection of the wagon train and heads out on his own which ultimately leads to his demise, leaving his ill-equipped wife alone in the wilderness. Yes, there were zippers and materials that didn't exist at the time, but anytime one watches a movie, there are moments when a viewer suspends disbelief. Multiple books about actual crossings of the Oregon Trail recount how as the wagon-hauling oxen, cows and horses died; settlers began throwing out all but absolute essentials. Thus, finding an abandoned upright piano alongside the trail was not unheard of. Before leaving the wagon, Jasmin Jandreau looks through her clothing, pulling out her wedding gown and a pair of lace up ladies boots. The boots are falling apart so she puts them and the gown back in the wagon, deciding to wear what looks to be her wedding shoes. Eventually, she finds a dead man on the trail and takes off his boots so that she can have more appropriate footwear. This film is fairly realistic and also faith affirming.