Fly Away Home

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney, Holter Graham, Jeremy Ratchford, David Hemblen
Directed by: Carroll Ballard
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Drama
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A girl (Anna Paquin) and her father (Jeff Daniels) decide to adopt motherless Canadian geese and teach them to fly south for the winter.

Review:
Tim: I thoroughly enjoyed Fly Away Home, this based-on-a-true story that manages to tell an exciting, uplifting story while deliver a family friendly viewing experience. It's very well directed by Carroll Ballard and it was a fun, entertaining film.

One thing I really enjoyed about it is that I was able to watch it with my 7 year-old son. It's one of the first non-animated PG movies he's seen. The tragedy at the beginning of the film was just a bit intense, but he handled it well. He enjoyed the movie a lot and it was fun to watch him watch it.

As for me, I had a great time with it. The story is so unique- a young girl finds baby Canadian geese and they imprint on her as their mother. They follow her around and they uplift her during an especially difficult time in her life. Eventually, her and her father land on a plan to teach them how to fly south for the winter- they'll fly south themselves and the geese will follow them. This isn't a plot we've seen before and it felt so refreshing to watch the story unfold. It's a bit predictable and watered down for the rating, but it didn't bother me much. I eagerly looked forward to their sojourn south and I was riveted to see if they would all make it. I really enjoyed this story.

The cast is quite good. Anna Paquin is the most critical member of the cast and it helps that she's such a talented young actress. She has experience and wisdom beyond her years and brings that to her portrayal of this girl. She's absolutely one of the stronger child actors, maybe ever. I also loved the performance of Jeff Daniels. I just marvel at the range of him as an actor. He can truly do anything. Here, he's goofy and a bit absentminded, but he brings so much heart to the role. Daniels and Paquin work really well together and I believed them as an estranged but caring family. Dana Delany was decent- she added some nice work, but she also felt like an afterthought. Terry Kinney added a nice supporting performance- he too felt somewhat on the margins of the film, but he gets a few more opportunities to impact the film. I wish Delany got a bit more to do.

I really appreciated how so many different elements were woven together in this film. The most obvious plot involves getting the geese to fly south, which is the main thrust of the story and accounts for the most exciting sequences. However, the story is really about a father and daughter repairing their relationship. This is helped brought to life by the excellent performances of Paquin and Daniels, but the story itself is an emotional and thought provoking one. It was interesting to watch this young girl piece her life together again after a tragedy. I thought her arc and the resilience she showed was one of the more profound aspects of the film. The relationship dynamic is what makes the first worth watching. I know that much of this was created for the movie, so even though it's not "true", it was quite entertaining.

The film is also exceptionally well shot- some of the flying scenes were absolutely incredible. The movie was nominated for 1 Academy Award- Best Cinematography. The look and feel of the film were major strengths.

I don't think Fly Away Home ever lands the emotional knockout punch that would have pushed it to greatness, but this is still a rousing, entertaining movie that I loved watching with my son. It was inspirational, education, and a lot of fun. It's absolutely a movie I would return to (if, you know, I had time to do that). It's a really strong film.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, Shiloh, Free Willy