A Place to Call Home

I have seen this movie at least 200 times over the years. I just bought a copy of it to watch again. As far as I'm concerned, it's a great movie about a great woman. It's about a family with a father that can't adjust to his life. Right from the beginning, you can see where this is going and I give Liz Gavin all the credit in the world for raising their kids.If my husband, after many years of marriage, announces that the best time of his life was when we weren't married, would be wearing my foot in an uncomfortable place. She is incredibly naive and complacent in her life. But she has an inner strength she never knew she had. Her and her husband plan to move to Australia with the kids, who are all against it. When the time comes to leave, Sam finds every excuse not to go. From here on, it's a battle to succeed. As for the previous comment about her singing a baby lamb to sleep, you lost the point of the movie. That is an extremely poignant part of the movie and shows what Liz Gavin is about. This is based on a true story and I admire the courage of Liz Gavin. I highly recommend this movie to everyone and I hope you'll try to locate it to watch.

Points for plucky Linda Lavin, especially at the end when she gives her eunuch of a husband the heave ho--she should have thrown HIM into the rushing water and gone back to the sheep station with her kids!!! How ironic that he wanted to move there because he thought the kids were going' soft, yet he didn't have the *Beep* to divorce his wife before he forced her to move to the other side of the globe. What a catch he was, eh? Meanwhile, ya gotta admire Lavin's character in this role, though I found her acting a bit understated--like she was holding back. And the kids, though equally plucky (and the little ones were cute) had their annoying moments. Still, it was a good "fish out of water" story.

This film seems to be missing the main motivation for its heroine. It is made clear throughout the film, particularly in the epilogue, that Linda Lavin's character is an extremely devout Catholic. She is raising her 11 children by herself in the Australian Outback while her husband is away-- money is short-- the children hate their new life on the ranch-- she has a surly ranch hand to contend with-- but you never see her praying, let alone gathering everyone 'round for the family rosary. Sure, she mentions she loves being pregnant, a veiled reference to her adherence to the Catholic Church's ban on artificial contraception, and a Catholic priest shows up occasionally as a family friend, but surely in real life this woman's spiritual life was so much richer. The only intense spiritual practice in this film is the aboriginal belief, immediately adopted by the children, that magical stones can make it rain.

A really good, heartwarming true story of a Houston family that relocates to the outback of Australia (minus the father). The wife (played by Linda Lavin) is forced to raise all 11 children by herself when her deadbeat husband decides he wants no part of the family life anymore. All seems to work out in the end, with many of the children deciding to stay in the outback.

It may have been a typical formula for Linda Lavin; a woman who sacrifices all for her children and has to stand up for herself against her neglectful husband, but 'A Place To Call Home' is nevertheless an interesting and involving story that took place in the early seventies. Both the culture shock of living in the Australian outback and the woman herself, who had numerous children and adopted others as well, are intriguing and do well to hold the attention. Lori Loughlin as the oldest daughter may be Hollywood beauty, but even she rebels against the unhappiness of the new life down under; yet there are children who do stand out and not inhabit the background who are not Hollywood beauties. Plus, there is no cliched interests like going to the mall or a concert. We are treated to the visits from a snake, the raising and unpredictability of sheep, and how involved the children get in their new environment. And rebellion is shown as a natural part of being a child, not put on a pedastol like in other movies.

Lavin delivers her usual work, no big surprises, Loughlin is a recognizeable face, Lane Smith as Lavin's husband Sam, appears at the end, and Robert MacNaughton, best known as the older brother in ET, towers over the other kids as a hyperactive teen, and Maggie Fitzgibbon works well as an Australian storekeeper who plays voice of reason to Lavin.

But the strongest player in this story is the story itself; the importance of sheep raising overwhelms everything else we are led to believe is important to a child. It is interesting to listen to the dialogue and observe the goings on at times as well, such as when Fitzgibbon and Lavin are talking, and at Christmastime. When Smith does arrive, he is now the outsider of this delightful situation. It really is a shame to see this saga end, but then we are treated to where all the children and the woman herself have gone to.