The Trail

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.

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

This movie had a great premise and could have been great. It started out ok, but just got worse and worse. A lot of things in the story line didn'make sense (example: she was incredibly smitten with her husband, which the viewer doesn't understand because he's portrayed as a jerk). The scene with the piano just drove me crazy! It was SOO obvious the director was trying to be artsy. It reminded me of a Counting Crows video (puke!). Another miss: the horribly cliche Native American boy (including his Kmart bought costume). At times the main actress was good, other times she was horrible. All the other actors were even worse. The final editing was not well done. Cut-to's that were disjointed and didn't line up, or shots that needed another 20 seconds to establish the context or emotion. If this was made by some college kids, then I'd say bravo. In that aspect this movie would be impressive. But I suspect it had a little more experience and budget behind it. It almost seemed as if it was rushed out of production. If more time had been spent on the details and editing, it would have been a MUCH better movie. I will give credit to the writer though, as the story was very solid. Some people can see past all these errors, but people that expect a movie to leave an impression on them will find it too irritating.

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!

After a tragedy, a young woman (Jasmin Jandreau) is left alone in the remote woods during the mid-1800's California Gold Rush. Can she survive and make it to civilization?

"The Trail" (2013), aka "Let God," is obviously a low-budget Western in light of the miniscule cast and limited setting & events, plus a couple of obvious anachronisms, like zippers on a pair of boots, which weren't even invented until 1893, not to mention goofs (a visible crew member and boom mic, both of which you have to actually look for to notice). Despite these shortcomings, this is a professionally made film with quality locations, an effective score and a decent lead actress. It successfully brings you to that time & place and lets you see what it was like for many settlers.

If you like settler/survival-oriented Westerns like "Meek's Cutoff" (2010), "Gold" (2013), "The Homesman" (2014) and "The Revenant" (2015), you'll likely appreciate "The Trail," although it's not as polished or eventful as the latter, which was a blockbuster. Unlike all of those modern Westerns, however, it shoots for something deeper, something spiritually profound, although it's utterly subdued until the very end. It's this particular aspect that makes the movie for me.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in the Lake Tahoe area, California, with some stuff done in Southern Cal (Temecula & Landers).

GRADE: B-