Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)

Simply A Masterpiece

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Blistering performances.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Dog owners and lovers need their heroes too. And they have one – more than one – in this movie. "Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog" is unlike any other dog story. For starters, it's not just a boy and dog story. There have been some very good ones of those – "Old Yeller," "Where the Red Fern Grows." Nor is it about humor, mysteries and dog detectives as in the Lassie and Rin Tin Tin serials. This is also an adventure story, a father-son story, a family story, a survival story and a story about the sea and the wilds. To describe too many details would detract from the enjoyment, so I won't go into the plot. But with all of this, "Far From Home" has some of the most spectacular scenery and cinematography in any movie made from the late 20th century to the present. The setting of the film is along the Pacific Coast of British Columbia – probably Vancouver Island, although it isn't specific. The ocean and coastal scenes were shot in the Pacific Rim National Park, along the middle coast of Vancouver Island. The island is the largest on the west coast of North America. It stretches 290 miles from South to North and 50 miles at its widest. It covers 12,407 square miles. Vehicle travel to and from the island is by ferries that run between ports on the B.C. mainland and the State of Washington in the U.S. While Victoria, the provincial capital of B.C. is located on the southern tip of the island, and some other towns of size run halfway up the inside passage, most of the land is rugged and heavily forested. Another key filming location was Hope, B.C., and the nearby Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. Several movies have been filmed at least in part in Hope since the first Rambo movie with Sylvester Stallone – "First Blood" in 1981. The nearby canyon is where the scene was shot with helicopter gunmen shooting at Stallone. One can imagine that certain shots in "Far From Home" were also filmed there. Hope is a beautiful place to visit. The Fraser River runs by the town, where the Coquihalla River joins it. The nearby canyon park has the Othello Tunnels with very scenic walking trails over an abandoned rail line. Just be sure to visit during July and August – the low rain times. The town gets 75 plus inches of rain a year, and it is often misty, foggy or just plain wet much of the other 10 months of the year. "Far From Home" is not a kid's movie, but kids of all ages will enjoy it – from 6 to 96.

Very few films have ever been made that touch the hearts of people from young children to senior citizens. At 60 yrs old, I've seen virtually all of the boy and dog TV Shows & movies from the original Lassie series (1954) to Old Yeller (1957) on through present day. This film beats them all. Don't look for foul language, nudity, or extreme violence that are so prevalent in movies today. This film didn't need them. It is perfect just as it is, standing on it's own with a great story line, acting, cinematography and scoring. Excellently written. Angus does exactly what a 16 year old kid would do that has reasonable knowledge in survival skills and is lost in the wilderness: He stays put for several days, then afraid he will not be found in that location, he leaves a message where he is headed, then heads off in that direction trying to find his way to the lighthouse he saw before their boat capsized. In the process, he makes several mistakes that any kid his age would make. He tries to stay strong, but has those moments when fear of not making it overtake him.Jesse Bradford plays the role of the lost 16-year-old boy with impeccable realism, from the wide shots to the extreme closeups that bring the viewer right into his eyes and emotions. The supporting actors, from his parents, to little brother, to rescuers are excellent. They don't attempt to steal the movie, but are incredible as supporting actors.The cinematography is second to none, sparing no expense to capture the beauty of British Columbia but never missing the intimate, personal actions and close-up emotions of Angus and Yellow Dog. The music score and ambient background sounds are amazing. If anyone wants to study how a movie of this genre should be scored, this is the movie to study. You can watch the entire movie and never even notice the music or the ambient background sounds. That is the real test of these two areas of film making. They are there to enhance, but not overtake the movie, and that is accomplished in this film.If you want to watch a film that will touch your heart and that you don't have to be embarrassed by it's content when you have children or parents or grandparents suddenly walk in, this is it.

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.