FLY AWAY HOME 4.0****
I’ve decided that after re-watching this 2004 film, “Fly Away Home”, this is one of the best family movies ever made. So, gather the family, the kids, yours and your neighbors' and fire-up the pop-corn-popper or microwave and kick back and enjoy a delightful really feel-good family movie !!. Yes, it is THAT good.

Amy( Anna Pacquin) is only 13 years old when her mother is killed in an auto wreck in New Zealand. She goes to Canada to live with her estranged father (Jeff Daniels), an eccentric inventor whom she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life...that is until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when developers began clearing a local forest. The eggs hatch and Amy becomes "Mama Goose".( In fact this “imprinting” is a true because without their real mother goose, the geese attach and bond to whatever and whoever is around when they hatch. Later, the young geese must fly south for the winter or die, but how will they get there? Could it be with a pair of ultra-light airplanes.? Amy, her dad and their friends must find a way to do it

It's difficult to pin-point which of the many elements of filmmaking that make this movie such a joy to watch again and again. But, first and foremost, it all comes down to a great story and the excellent screenwriting. The key point in the story is the discovery by Amy of the abandoned nest of Canadian geese eggs, and that becomes the impetus that takes with her on her journey. While the story is primarily about the geese and they will absolutely grab you from the get-go and you’ll love the way they are lovingly photographed on land, water and in the air. And wait 'till you get a gander at the dad-made goose-looking ultra-light plane that Amy flies to lead the flock.

But the story is also about Amy's recovery and reconnection with her future, with her life. It plays out masterfully through the performances of Anna Paquin as Amy and Jeff Daniels as her father. The awesome story is supported with moving consistency in the music, the gorgeous cinematography and fine casting. The cinematography is National Geographic quality. When the goslings ( baby geese) follow Amy around, much of the photography is from ground level. Later when they are all flying, the photography is right there in the flying formation. You are seeing the birds, in flight, right next to you. The beauty of the motion is unbelievable. There is beauty in seeing them fly. There is beauty in seeing them in their habitat. But the overwhelming beauty is in their living.

The final sequence is a thing of sublime, powerful beauty that is rarely seen in movies these days. A powerful, wordless climax. Something that happens so effortlessly, because the story that comes before has been told so completely and with such skill. I cried a little out of the pure joy of the moment and most who watch it will at least tear-up a little.

Clark

FOOTNOTE: Yes this is the same Anna Pacquin who plays sultry role of “Sookie” in the hit vampire TV series, “True Blood”.