The Trail

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.

I've read all the reviews pointing to the obvious problems with zippers, sweating, costumes, etc.... and I noticed that too but I think it is short-sighted not to point out the things that worked in this movie. This was the director's first film on a very, very small budget and I think he accomplished some very effective scenes. The attack scene was pure genius because it creates terror with no extra expense using a bunch of actors, etc.. The viewer experiences it completely from the woman's point of view. The lead actress is excellent and well directed! I also thought the camera movement around the woman in the woods was excellent and created genuine suspense. Making films is extremely difficult and to just pick away at all the details of sweating, zippers and undergarments, and the fact she never wears a coat is all legit but stops short of the redeeming qualities of this film. In the Coen brothers' re-make of "True Grit" the girl is completely dry after riding her horse across a river! And that's the very well-financed, acclaimed Coen brothers! This film maker has genuine potential and should be encouraged to make more films.

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!

I enjoyed this movie so much! Good, clean and wholesome story. A diamond in the rough, in my opinion

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.