Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog

I found this to be a most enjoyable little film. The scenery magnificent and the young stars acting I thought most enjoyable. Even the dog was good. Hell it made me want to cuddle my own dogs.

A wee bit sentimental, but whats wrong with sentiment now and again. I can recommend this movie.

Far from Home - The Adventures of Yellow Dog

Despite a rather ridiculous title ("The Adventures of Yellow Dog"?), this winning tale of a 14-year-old boy's bond with a yellow lab will warm your heart. Okay, I'm lying--but it will entertain the kiddies. It's a children's version of "Cast Away" after Jesse Bradford is stranded in a Canadian wilderness with his pet dog, left with only a few items for survival. Really, it's not as bad as it sounds.

1995, PG (violence).

*** / *****

SPOILER: We stumbled into "Far from Home" by chance. It proved to be a solid entertaining way to spend almost an hour and a half in good company. Phillip Borsos, the director, has to be congratulated for capturing this adventure that shows a boy surviving some of the worst conditions when he is shipwrecked. We would recommend this film to families with children because it shows how a boy forms a bond with his beloved dog under the worst possible circumstances.

The beauty of British Columbia and its rugged scenery serve as the background to this story. A close knit family living in a rural area and loving the outdoors are at the center. When Yellow, the dog that appears at the McCormicks, Katherine and John, the parents, appear reluctant in keeping it. Angus, the teen ager son, sees more than his parents and accepts the challenge, and responsibility in keeping Yellow in check.

When Angus and his father take to the water in John's medium sized vessel, they bring Yellow as well. They encounter rough seas and the ship capsizes. John hangs to the boat, but Angus is separated from his dad. What follows is a parents' worst nightmare. Every effort is made to look for the boy. It takes many days to locate Angus and when he is going to be rescued by a helicopter from the top of a tree that serves as a bridge, Yellow, his beloved dog, loses his balance and falls into a river below. Angus is saddened by the lost of Yellow, but deep inside, he never loses faith. We watch him whistling for the dog, who has responded to the signal before. Throughout the ordeal Angus never loses hope of being reunited with Yellow.

Jesse Bradford, makes a great impression as the resourceful Angus. Bruce Davison and Mimi Rogers are seen as the parents. Ultimately, the trainers of Dakotah, the Yellow dog in the picture, must be congratulated for their skill in making this amazing dog perform some excellent work and its inter action with Jesse Bradford.

A film for all ages, but mostly for young children thanks to Phillip Borsos.

The plot is the standard fare, touched on by quite a few viewers already. Boy meets dog, Dog and Boy get lost in the wilderness, dog and boy get attacked by wolves ( but no bears surprisingly). Good acting but no real standouts, beautiful cinematography ( the film's strongest point) Direction is weak in points, but enough to keep the film flowing. Overall a decent effort. The problem is in the script. This is a young fellow who clearly has some survival skills yet manages to throw them aside at every turn. At one point he has access to a dead deer and a cabin, yet he continues on! Give me a break. Well I suppose you need to keep the suspense in order to have a movie. However some attempt does need to be made to keep things realistic. It is very frustrating to watch a film and constantly have to ask, "now why did he do that!" Well,this film is entertaining enough, but the writer is certainly no Jack London.

Personally this has many memories for me, as I was friends with the editors son when I lived in Vancouver in 1993 and was lucky enough to see it being edited. I still have a cut from the reel somewhere. It brings back many memories, both from seeing the film 1st hand and also from viewing the fantastic scenery of British Columbia which has great childhood memories.

Over all, it's a well shot film with some good long outdoor shots. The story is a little clichéd but what else can you expect from a family film! The dog does an amazingly good job as do the actors. They were only in their early teens when it was shot so I've gotta hand it to them for doing such a good job considering they were the main characters. There are some moments where they the supporting actors lack fluidity in their delivery and let's be honest, the concept isn't ground breaking.

If your looking for a good, well filmed family film look no further. One of the lost gems in film history.