In Search of a Golden Sky

By the 1980s, the "out in nature" family film was on its last legs, which may explain why after this particular effort was made in 1982, it took two years to find a distributor. It doesn't seem to have received much of a theatrical release, since it's pretty obscure and hard to find today, which is a shame. I will admit the movie is far from perfect. It's pretty low budget, ranging from the excessive use of stock footage to the fact the characters only seem to have one set of clothes each. It is almost totally free of action, and is quite slow at times. But all the same, I really enjoyed it. While it's slow, it has an easygoing charm all the way through. It emphasizes good values such as family ties and love, as well as respect for animals and the environment. A little religion is thrown in as well, but it's not heavy-handed. The cast does very well, particularly stars George "Buck" Flower and Charles Napier. The movie is a perfect antidote for the loud and strident family movies being made today.

This was the first movie my husband and I saw together. We both thought it was a wonderful movie about family values. It may not have been the best made of the year, but it is worth keeping around to show future generations. I would love to be able to get a copy for my family! The movie starts out with a family problem. The children set out on a journey to fine their father who is missing. Along the way they overcome several obstacles and do much life learning. They learn how to depend on each other and themselves and the value of family. It also shows us that society is sometimes wrong in their approach to family crisis. Sometimes it seems necessary to do what is right, not what the courts say.

It is a wonderful sweet movie. It is not your Citizen Kane, but it is not the worst movie ever made. It is a sweet movie about family and the necessity of love. It is about the simple things in life, and I wish we got back to those ideas. The villain of this movie is an overbearing government that seeks to separate the children from Zep. The movie is almost libertarian in its outlook on life. It was the first movie that I remember watching in the movies while I was young. My father must have took me, as my mother was dying of cancer and sister was too young to understand it. This movie has meant a lot to me even before I found a DVD reproduction of it.

I would encourage everyone to watch it with their children with an open mind. It might be old but it is still sweet and loving. Which is missing in a lot of today's movies.