La Liberté sauvage

An urban family looking for getaway from the hassles and tiring of city life and rush-hour traffic , furthermore an ill daughter , for these reasons they turn into pioneers on the rugged Rocky mountains . The film depicts an agreeable family , formed by a father (Robert F Logan) , mother (Susan Damante Shaw) and sons (Holmes , Larsen) who leave civilization for the freedom of the Rocky wild . But they soon encounter troubles in paradise and that the wilderness may be more harsh than grumpy bosses and the difficulties of the city . As they must escape some violent animals and learn to survive .

This is an enjoyable film filled with adventures , familiar feeling , beautiful songs , wildlife and breathtaking landscapes with majestic scenarios . The movie is plenty of animals such as bears , moose or elk , mountain goats , deers , raccoon , wolves , some of them are uncultivated and other tamed as a dog that defends and saves them in several occasions . Sensible score with wonderful songs fitting to environment . Spectacular outdoors and acceptable photography , though being necessary an urgent remastering because the film-copy is worn-out .

This movie seems to be the first of a series , these are the following : ¨Further adventures Robinson family (1977)¨ by Frank Zuñiga from the producers of the first part and turns out to be a predictable retread ; ¨Mountain of Robinson family (1979)¨ in which the family is determined to return to wilderness and moves to the Rockies . In similar style and also offering a pleasant scenery are : ¨Sea gypsies ( 1978)¨ in that a sailing crew is shipwrecked off the Aleutian Islands and ¨Across the great divide (1976)¨ in which two orphans must cross the dangerous snow-covered Rocky mountain in order to claim their inheritance , being based on facts happened in 1876 . All films are mostly starred by Robert F. Logan , Susan Damante Shaw and usual appearance as secondary actor the likable George Buck Flowers and being produced by Joseph Raffill ( father of Stewart Raffill who habitually results to be the filmmaker of the series) and also financed by producer Arthur Dobbs . This family-oriented tale about modern-day pioneers who head for life in nature will appeal to wilderness buffs .

I saw this movie as a kid and loved it. Today, I saw it again with my wife and two kids and loved it.

There are aspects that are completely unrealistic (i.e. a welder knows how to build a very nice log cabin, a fast grizzly does not run down the little girl who happens to be ten feet away, the man is not seriously mangled by the mountain lion, the dog is not killed by the wolves, etc.), but what I loved about it was the fact that the family does what so many families long to do--get out of Dodge and head for the high country.

People weren't meant to be stuck in a box 24/7 because they are enslaved to a house payment, the monster SUV, and all the other trappings of civilization. Families were meant to hang together and kids were meant to learn from parents--not MTV, the druggies on the corner, or their friends at school. Parents, to your children love is spelled TIME. This film reinforces that notion and illustrates that this misguided idea of quality time being more important than quantity is ridiculous. The pragmatic message from this film is for parents to sell the BMW and buy a Chevy, sell the mansion on the hill and buy the house in the valley, chuck the ladder-climbing job and take the one that allows you to be home for dinner every night. After all, nobody every regretted not spending more time at work, but they did regret not spending more time with the kiddos.

I believe that it's a movie that was ahead of its time and I'd love to see a more modern (and more realistic) take on the subject. Besides, it's a good family film, which is a rarity these days. It's not a perfect film by any standard, but the scenery is beautiful and the plot is visionary. That's why I give it an 8 out of 10.

I loved this film as a child - and was brought up in the Rocky Mountains, backpacking with my Dad, and can relate to the feeling of wanting to drop everything and "head for the hills."

Have seen the movie and its sequel recently, I can still say it is a movie I would love for my children to watch and love. It is wholesome, family value oriented, and in general, a great joy for kids. It makes you want to go out camping and enjoy what little wilderness we have left in the US.

While I do have to agree with other posters that you simply can't "up and leave" as they do in this film (ie - no preparation re: hunting, fishing, planting, learning, etc.), you just can't fit all that into a film. And it would bore the kids to death. It is a family/children's film, after all, not an adult action flick.

I highly recommend this film to anyone with children.

I thought this movie was a fine, clean motion picture with action and adventure. I appreciated the high moral values portrayed in this entertaining film. If you are looking for a picture to enjoy with your family(small children included) for an evening, then I would recommend this one.

This is a good concept of a film, but unfortunately the execution falls flat.

Los Angeles family moves abruptly, not because of crime or overpopulation, but SMOG. (that smog will get you every time). They blindly move into an isolated section of the wilderness 25 minutes away from the nearest people. The parents apparently didn't do their homework because their house is a rundown one-room shack that makes Charles Ingalls' house look like a mansion in comparison. But wouldn't you just know, the father is a man-of-all-trades (just like Ingalls), so he's able to build a new house.

The entire rest of the film is filled with lots of shouting. And YELLING. And SCREAMING. And ARGUING. And SHRIEKING. Did I mention the shouting, because there is a lot of it. You really think these people would tone it down now that they are just by themselves and would seemingly value their peace and quiet, but I suppose not. Oh, and wild animals. Lots of befriending wild animals and running from wild animals. If you like shouting or wild animals, this is the flick for you.

Obviously, there's no large cast with this film. The father does lots of YELLING. The mother is acceptable, if not bland. The daughter alternates between being in a seeming euphoria and positively SHRIEKING at the top of her lungs when she is in danger. The boy is young and has vast difficulty carrying his end of the load.

Despite all of this, the movie does have a few redeeming qualities. The scenery provides for some spectacular shots. The movie also does a good job of portraying animals as living things and explaining the value of befriending them or respecting their territory. The father does kill a moose, but explains to his son they had to because they needed to eat and not because the dad wanted to mount its head on the wall.