Lost in the Barrens (1990)

Waste of time

Fresh and Exciting

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

When your world wise elders tell you not to go into The Barrons... listen to them! They know what they are talking about ! Sure, sure, it was only supposed to be a day canoe trip but there are always those "just around the corner" things you must investigate ! The boys, Nicholas Shields and Evan Adams, play their characters quite believably. Graham Green is his usual wise self and always a pleasure to find in any film.One of the dreaded plot holes for me was just why the school sent Jamie away so close to the end of a semester. NOT to mention just how they keep getting those fires started and manage to ... well... lots of holes.It's basically an "after school teach the kids inter cultural tolerance" kind of picture and as such is pretty watchable but be prepared to use that suspension of disbelief.The BEAR is terrific !

A young man named Jamie is forced to leave his home and had to go live with his uncle deep in the woods, far from his usual lifestyle of sports and friends. He arrives there, only to detest the new lifestyle he must now get used to. He soon meets his uncle's friends, a tribe who is about to embark on a hunting trip as well as being the test for manhood for Awasis, the youngest. Jamie is pressured to join, despite his reluctance.When Jamie and Awasis become separated from the rest of the tribe, they embark on a mission to find them again, each having to overcome their intolerance for the other's ways. Their mission takes them through many obstacles, their biggest being the barrens, a vast expanse of tundra, wrought with hungry bears, freezing temperatures, and an unforgiving glare from the sun off the snow.Lost in the Barrens is a well made movie with decent acting and gorgeous scenery. Definitely a movie for people who enjoy the outdoors.

The box has the words "family" stomped all over it, so the happy outcome is never in doubt.What makes this adventure movie interesting is the very clearly drawn characters of the two 15-year old protagonists.Orphan Jamie is impulsive and completely self-centred. Native Awasis is steeped in native superstition, a product of abuse in residential schools. Each gradually becomes a little less extreme from their interaction.Because it is a family film, sex never rears it head, in even the most passing reference. Sex or desire just does not exist in their universe between anybody. I found the complete lack more jarring than had they put in a token reference to somebody having the hots for someone else. It gave the movie an unrealistic Disney feel.I had some problems with continuity. The boys keep acquiring things as needed without any explanation of where they came from. It reminded me a bit of Mary Poppins' magic bag.I did not particularly want to watch this movie. I did not want to watch people freezing, starving, killing animals for food and eating revolting things. The movie was my roommate's choice. However, the movie more than held my interest the whole way through.

A young man is unexpectedly removed from his high school and has to go live in the north of Canada with his trapper uncle who he doesn't know. He doesn't know anything about anything pertaining to this life style or area and he has no desire to learn.He travels even farther north with some Indians he just met. He ends up lost in the barrens of northern Canada with an Indian boy. They face tremendous hardships.This is an excellent adventure movie for the whole family. I gave it a 9. Roger Moncrief