Loin de la maison

Angus is learning to drive in his father's pickup truck (with comic results), so he must be in his mid-teens. A mysterious dog shows up at his house, and he wants to keep it, but his parents say it must belong to someone. They reluctantly agree to keep the dog at least until its owner is found, if there is one. The dog causes problems and Angus is reminded he must be responsible for the dog. One day the father is making a delivery on the boat CORMORANT, somewhere on the Pacific coast, with Angus and the dog. The weather gets rough unexpectedly, and the boat capsizes. The father is rescued quickly but does not know what happened to his son. Angus and the dog managed to get in a small boat Angus helped build, along with some supplies, and they make it to shore. But the area is very isolated, and even though search planes fly over several times, Angus can't make his presence known. He is there for many days with the dog, but despite his age Angus has learned many survival skills (earlier in the movie Angus and his younger brother camped out in the back yard and we saw the father teach some of these skills; the father also gave Angus a knife that had been given to him by his father) and gets along quite well. After a while the food situation gets so bad Angus even eats some of the cookies his girlfriend Sara made him. The dog helps some, even chasing away wolves and later a bobcat (these were the only scary scenes, but nothing that should bother parents). Angus later starts moving toward civilization. The search team shows signs of giving up, but as in most movies like this, the parents will not let them. This was an okay movie. No standout performances, and nothing to make it better than any other movies like it, but the boy's ability to take care of himself was nothing less than amazing.

This is a locally made movie, so my expectations were low. It was a gripping tale. First, the characters were all thoroughly likable, none of the Hollywood cliché petty cruelties and insults. The landscapes are spectacular and menacing. The imaginative use of mixed sound and music gives a heightened sense of reality. Even though I saw it on a relatively small screen, it has much of the emotional impact of IMAX. Of course yellow dog steals the show since she is so sincere. This is not a cute film, but a rather scary tale of getting lost, survival and rescue.

Only in retrospect did I wonder how the climatic scene was done. I still wonder if everyone, including yellow dog risked their necks to shoot it. The natural world dangers in the film were similar to dangers I have lived myself, so they seemed ever so much more frightening than guns and bombs. It would be a bit too frightening for small children.

Even though I knew I was being strongly manipulated by the inevitable happy ending, I could not help myself from bursting into tears.

I found this to be a most enjoyable little film. The scenery magnificent and the young stars acting I thought most enjoyable. Even the dog was good. Hell it made me want to cuddle my own dogs.

A wee bit sentimental, but whats wrong with sentiment now and again. I can recommend this movie.

Personally this has many memories for me, as I was friends with the editors son when I lived in Vancouver in 1993 and was lucky enough to see it being edited. I still have a cut from the reel somewhere. It brings back many memories, both from seeing the film 1st hand and also from viewing the fantastic scenery of British Columbia which has great childhood memories.

Over all, it's a well shot film with some good long outdoor shots. The story is a little clichéd but what else can you expect from a family film! The dog does an amazingly good job as do the actors. They were only in their early teens when it was shot so I've gotta hand it to them for doing such a good job considering they were the main characters. There are some moments where they the supporting actors lack fluidity in their delivery and let's be honest, the concept isn't ground breaking.

If your looking for a good, well filmed family film look no further. One of the lost gems in film history.

Far from Home - The Adventures of Yellow Dog

Despite a rather ridiculous title ("The Adventures of Yellow Dog"?), this winning tale of a 14-year-old boy's bond with a yellow lab will warm your heart. Okay, I'm lying--but it will entertain the kiddies. It's a children's version of "Cast Away" after Jesse Bradford is stranded in a Canadian wilderness with his pet dog, left with only a few items for survival. Really, it's not as bad as it sounds.

1995, PG (violence).

*** / *****