Subject: Fly Away Home
A film review by John Schuurman
Copyright 1996 John Schuurman
Directed by Carroll Ballard
I live in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It is a place where you can hardly open your car door without banging into a goose. During egg sitting time in the Spring, the suckers rush you if you are out for a stroll in the park. But, no matter, you can't go to the park without stepping in goose poop anyway. The people around here are so enamored with fauna that they feed the geese so that they stay around all year and have lost the ability to migrate. We have goose crossing signs along certain roadways for heavens sake! Not long ago, some teenage kids found a wounded goose and abused it to death. They were arrested and the news commentary stated that "charges were pending in the goose homicide." Just think about that sentence. So, in my area, animals have been raised to genus homo' and the world goes mad.
So I knew what I was in for when I went to see this movie. And, while I am not one of the converted, I have to say that it was a wonderful kid/animal movie. You have seen this story many times before, albeit usually with horses or dogs and lately with whales and sea lions. But this film is significant in that we have at last moved out of the mammal class. Here we have the reliable formula: sad child forms relationship with needy creature(s) somewhere lower on the food chain. The two grow mutually dependent and both are (usually) saved from some kind of trouble. It works wonderfully well. Here too.
But we should be able to broaden things a bit. How about it? Can we get a kid/animal movie with amphibians? Beetles? Lobsters? Demand equal rights for bottom feeders! If a goose can cuddle, (a needed requisite in kid/animal movies), why can't a ... whatever? Just put a little food juice on the nose or in the hair and you have a relationship!
My cynicism aside, I did love this movie. I love all kid/animal movies.
I especially enjoyed Jeff Daniels as the eccentric Canadian artist. His performance was the result of a terrific character/culture study.
The triumph in this particular film is the flight photography. It is a real feast for the eye and the heart. Take your kids and your inner kid to this one.
============= for more reviews by John Schuurman see: http://www.mcs.com/~wcrc/movies.html
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