Hidden Places (2006)

Great Film overall

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Eliza (Sydney Penney) is a widow with two young children, a boy and a girl. Her husband's family owns a beautiful orange orchard in California, where gorgeous mountains can be seen over the horizon. Also, living with her is her grouchy father-in-law and an older relative named Aunt Batty (Shirley Jones). One day, the patriarch asks Eliza to make the children leave school, temporarily, and help with the farm, as there is much, much work to be done. Reluctantly, she agrees. But, soon after, the grandfather passes away from a heart attack and the future is suddenly very much in doubt. With a mortgage and taxes due and the money supply riding on the harvest, how will two women and two children bring in the heavy crop? Fortunately, a handsome drifter comes by, willing to work for food and board. Named Gabe (Jason Gedrick), he seems congenial and hard-working but refuses to say much about himself or his past. Soon, the ladies and the kids have taken him into their hearts and rely on his help and advice. But, even so, with cold temperatures threatening the crops and with bank representatives breathing over their necks, will they be able to save the orchard and sustain themselves? Could it be, too, that Eliza and Gabe may be falling in love? This lovely, lovely film should not be hidden from ANYONE! It has a beautiful story, fine acting, gorgeous scenery, valuable lessons, high standards and no objectionable material. It is truly a film for everyone in the family and for all those who believe the film industry has nothing to offer but filth. Penney is beautiful and touching, long after her child acting days (see Pale Rider). Gedrick, too, is handsome and talented while Jones is an absolute delight and joy. All other cast members, including Tom Bosley, are very fine indeed. Also, the setting is most beautiful, evoking comparisons with A Walk in the Clouds, among others. The night scenes of the flaming smoke pots trying to keep the crop warm are outstanding. Most importantly, the film has wonderful lessons in courage, faith, love, diligence and more. Do not hesitate, whoever you are or whatever your beliefs, to seek out this glorious bit of movie-making. There are few films that would earn the highest praise possible, as this one certainly, ringingly does.

Having read the book first, several times as a matter of fact because it was so very good!!!, I was truly let down by the movie. The movie was no where close to the book. The book lets you get to know each character in such an intimate way, whereas the movie jumps into the plot to quickly with no "hidden places". Gee they didn't have her have the right amount of kids, or the right orchard (apples not oranges). They didn't speak about the hidden past of the Wyatt family(Batty, Lydia, Matthew, Frank etc) and Eliza's (circus family, how she hooked Sam etc) No suspense or anything. Just pure lameness. One should be ashamed to put out such a pathetic rendition of and absolutely wonderful book. The whole purpose of the book was to help one see how God can taken so many broken lives and work it all out despite so much pain and hurt and deception. I hope Lynn Austin did not watch the movie, what a let down.

Hidden Places is a nice film about a young mother of two whose husband has died, she moves her family back to her father in laws orchard in the 1930s. The father in law dies leaving the family with a mortgage payment and other hardships. A young handsome world war one veteran drifter comes to town and helps the family out, this is a quaint and heartwarming story about hard times and how the salt of the earth survived the depression. Good cinematography and scenery. The dialog struggled some in places, but the experienced cast did a wonderful job making the characters as believable as possible in a film whose era has few living members left. A good movie about overcoming tragedy and hardship for the entire family.

I saw this movie and fell asleep at the very end of it. How did it end? And now I have deleted it and can't get it back from my DVR!! It was such a great movie and I don't like missing the end of movies. I hope that it comes on again since it was this years movie. Maybe this is why Sydney Penny wasn't on All my Children for so long??? I like her character in AMC now. I have been looking for it on Hallmark Channel and can't seem to find that it is being repeated anytime soon. I doubt that it's on DVD since I believe Hallmark told me that they don't release their movies to DVD. I will also write to them and see if they are going to play it again and then e-mail me to remind me of when it will be on again.