The Land Beyond the Sunset

This magical little gem from the studios of Thomas Edison is one of the revelations of the "Treasures from American Film Archives" program shown on TCM and available on DVD. In it a poor newsboy who lives with an alcoholic and abusive grandmother in a city slum gets to visit the countryside and participate in a picnic for the underprivileged. There he becomes transformed by a fairy-tale story that is read to the kids and is inspired to seek for himself that land beyond the horizon, where all is happiness and joy, a desire which all of us on this planet must surely share from time to time. The music track added to this presentation features some lovely songs which, together with the compelling images, transport us all to that better beyond.