Saving Sarah Cain (2007)
When Sarah Cain, a self-involved big-city newspaper columnist, travels to Pennsylvania for the funeral of her Amish sister, she soon discovers that she is the legal guardian of her five Amish nieces and nephews. Rather than choose to move to Lancaster County to finish raising them there herself, or let them be separated by the foster care system, Sarah decides to take them with her back to Portland where she believes she can make a new life for them. However, she soon realizes that the modern world has forced them to compromise who they are, and that she has moved them there for all the wrong reasons - a motive which is soon exposed - because secrets can really never be kept secret. In order to find her own redemption, she knows she must make a choice to give them back their lives in Amish Country. And whether she remains part of their lives will have a lot to do with how much she has grown to love them.
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The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
This is one powerful movie that somehow manages to transcend the wide chasm between mainstream and message. The acting is superb, the writing is fresh and believable, and the production qualities are top notch. Considering the unlikely premise, this had all the makings of just another manipulative barf bag of Hollywood drivel. But in the sensitive hands of Michael Landon, Jr., it speaks to the audience with the voice of truth. Can I single out one performance above all the others? No way. The kids are wonderful, Elliott Gould hits a home run, Tom Tate is convincing and likable in a thankless supporting role, and Lisa Pepper is absolutely "real," causing us to see her character as an actual human being instead of a screen persona. Resembling a young Jennifer Aniston, she knows just how far to take her character before crossing the line into screen histrionics. Terrific! Mark McKenzie's music, while not quite reaching the sublime heights of "The Last Sin Eater" (2007) is lovely and unobtrusive, at times punctuating the dramatic moments with a light and never maudlin touch. Even the high school students are not the expected stereotypes. It is clear that Landon set out to craft a special film of honesty, solid values, and cinematic integrity, and he succeeded brilliantly on all counts. I recommend "Saving Sarah Cain" without reservation.
It's not a bad movie, and is rather touching. Definitely sends the 'right' message for young people and families.I live in Lancaster, PA. This movie is so full of inaccuracies about the Amish that I can't give it a full recommendation. Please don't watch this and assume you've learned about the Amish and their way of life.We laughed when we heard the Amish 'elder' speaking--Amish don't have German accents! And Amish bonnets don't look like that. I could go on.Suffice to say, the Amish aren't at all as innocent of our way of life as we'd like to believe them to be.
"Saving Sarah Cain" is a respectful look at a Pennsylvania Amish community. Like the film "Witness", it assumes that its characters are rational people with understandable motives for the choices they make, rather than members of an altogether alien world. There is a minor problem with the attributed location of the story. Although the movie was filmed partly in Lancaster County, PA, a comment is made that Pittsburgh (not Philadelphia) is "the nearest big city". This only makes sense if the characters are members of the New Wilmington, PA Amish community, or of nearby towns. The Western Pennsylvania Amish are a thriving and interesting bunch, and authenticity here would have added to the flavor of the film.
Michael Landon Jr. comes up with yet another one of his sappy, unlikely and totally predictable movie. The acting by the entire cast, (save Elliott Gould), is wooden and not at all convincing. Over sentimental and filled with cliché's. It is supposed to be a "feel good" movie, but instead it becomes a "feel nauseated" movie. The script is not written with any feeling of living in the real world. The way people talk, their situations are completely made up by director Landon's vision is what real people are like. He apparently has no clue as to how people are in the real world. Diabetics beware! This sugar coated concoction could be fatal!