Fly Away Home


The song that undergirds the soundtrack of the movie.

I watched the Sebelius hearing as long as I could. Rush’s first comment on his show said it all. “Were there any Republicans there? Did anyone ask her, if you can’t build a working website, why should we trust you to run one sixth of the American economy?”

Uh, no. They didn’t.

Why I’m offering up a distraction from the post-hearing commentary, which will undoubtedly be even more wearisome, tedious, and annoying than the hearing itself.

Fly Away Home is playing on the Encore Family Channel tonight and is available elsewhere, I’m sure. Girl raises geese, leads them on their first migration. I won’t direct you to the trailer because it’s designed to make you take your kids to a children’s movie. Except that it’s more than that. Here are a couple of comments from IMDB’s user reviews.

One of the reasons I was sucked into this wonderful family movie was the photography. It is National Geographic quality. In fact I was so impressed with the cinematography that I had to look up who did it: Caleb Deschanel. The setting, a farm in Southern Ontario, allowed him to become intimate with the geese and the natural setting. Another reason I couldn’t stop watching the movie was the stunning performance by Anna Paquin, the 16-year old girl who played Amy…

The story, ‘Fly Away Home’ is touching because she’s not the kind of Hollywood-trained child actor you find in most movies. A surprising thing happened as I watched Amy and her geese. I could sense a startling serenity from her as the bond had developed between them. I wondered how she could manage that. She was only a 16-year old actress then but she conveyed a mothering instinct that goes back to the ageless beginnings of life on this planet. When the goslings were following her around, much of the photography was from ground level. Later when they were all flying, the photography was right there in the flying formation. You were seeing the birds, in flight, right next to you. The beauty of motion was unbelievable.

And this one:

I don’t have much in the way of feelings so usually stick to science.

An engineer by trade I used to subscribe to a “tecchie” aviation magazine. One issue had this incredible story by some kindly if eccentric Canadian folks who had raised a gaggle of baby geese, and you know the rest. Details of aviation aside, the story warmed my heart. Most Unusual.

A year or so later I took my kids to see “Flyaway Home” expecting a mildly entertaining nature documentary, like Disney’s old “Prairie Dog Town” with an aviation twist.

What I saw was a superbly crafted and deeply touching little masterpiece. I was in tears by the end.

Metaphors of kindness aside, this film will touch any heart however hardened or scarred.

And the kids liked it too.

A few klunky plot twists aside, it’s a breath of fresh air and a fine escape from the poisoned atmosphere of our national political climate. If there’s no way you can get hold of the movie tonight, here’s a lengthy trailer of the kind I normally despise because it gives away so much of the movie. But there’s no narration, just a sequence of cinematography highlights.

Best I can offer today. Though I recognize the possibility nobody’s up to it. My better half just texted me, “Not in a feel-good kind of mood.”

Raebert’s all growly and grumpy too.

Uplifting cinematography can only do so much.

3 thoughts on “Fly Away Home

  1. Could just be the weather.

    But I thought this was a wonderful movie, wrenching at times, beautifully filmed.

  2. Can’t promise I will get to it tonight, but this does sound like a good movie to watch with the kids. One that will entertain us both. Thanks for the suggestion.

  3. The trailer made me cry. The good kind of cry, for a change. I don’t care if it’s klunky, sentimentalized or has any other weakness. I want to see it so I’m going to order a copy right now. Thank you.

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