zandernat-1

Huston conveyed emotion, remorse, rage, resignation and relief with depth and the effortlessness of truth: each won by long years of pain or the grace of an instant. A sort of well, dare I say 'goodness' seems to emanate from the man. He is blithely naive, callow, filled with talent and care for his fellow man and beasts. A mantle of grace rests upon him....you can feel it.

I would give his performance 10 stars. In fact, I do.

The film, however...

I do not like the inclusion of contemporary music in historical settings. It grates at the suspension of disbelief required to be lost in the time and place being brought to life. It holds the entire narrative up against a shadow puppet screen and says 'remember, this isn't real.' That's not what I want. Contemporary music plays at the close of the film, I recall.

Also, the costuming.... they didn't get away with the use of polyester fabrics ~ particularly with metallic elements. They could be seen and were glaring anachronisms, particularly in the women's clothing and in the beginning scenes. Again, jarring to one wishing to believe he is indeed looking upon the time roughly corresponding with the beginning of our calendar system.

The costuming recovers, however. Huston's tunics and attire are flawless. But what about Freeman's Tuareg clothing? Was he a Moor? A Tuareg? An Amazight? They might have made it more clear which sort of African he represented.

The film is worth seeing. It is stirring. It touches the depths of suffering and sorrow and leaves an impression if not a few tears.

What Hans Christian Andersen was to the Danish, these tales are to the Amish, perhaps. What do you think of when you hear about these old fairy tales...Danny Kaye? A glimmering, sentimental film set? Well, these are actually rather gruesome and unforgiving tales: the Little Match Girl, the Red Shoes...all cautionary tales against excess, or being cut off from family and one's community.

Are they Amish Hauntings true? Some of them may be, some may be exaggerated or made up. It isn't hard to see, though, that they fulfill a 'cautionary tale' role in Amish folklore. Some of these tales are as difficult to believe as your standard 'urban legend' but what makes this series interesting, perhaps, is that these are 'RURAL Legends.'

Take a step back to the campfire of yore and hear a ghost story set in a place sans modern conveniences and distractions. Yes, there are moments when the modern world comes into play, even in these tales, but mostly, I think you will find some good old fashioned, scary fun like your great-grandparents (or better yet, earlier than that) might have enjoyed.

I like the reviews above, one about the headstones and use of electricity. I also researched the electricity issue. The Amish do use batteries and the episode touched on this so I don't think the series meant to slight or lead anyone astray. The tombstone issue of their being varied in the episode but not in Amish tradition which the reviewer brought up is a valid point. Still, I don't think anyone is trying to mock their plain neighbors. I'm in Ohio and we have great respect for the Amish---especially their cooking, and furniture making--in fact I think we idolize their 'plain' ways a bit--so I don't think we need to be so politically correct that we must pretend not to notice that people in our communities have different traditions, stories or folkways. I think it's fascinating and certainly I do not see any disrespect intended in the series.

I have seen every episode. I did take exception to portraying the actors as actual Amish people (hence my score of 8/10) who allegedly experienced these events but that is understandable. The actual Amish participants who do not want to have their photo taken are not likely to appear in a TV show.