Based on the book by Beverly Lewis.
Version: 2011; directed by Michael Landon, Jr.
Genre: Amish; drama
Plot Summary: 20-year-old Katie Lapp has a promising life ahead of her in the Amish community she grew up in. She is about to be wed to an Amish bishop and her family is excited for her. But her heart still goes back to a former love who presumably died in a tragic accident. She doesn’t seem to fit into the Amish life in other ways, as her songs and guitar playing are forbidden. Then a mysterious letter shows up, which her parents try to hide. Why is a ‘fancy Englischer’ searching for a young 20 year old girl?
My Movie Review: (Disclaimer! I have not read the original book, so this review will not be comparing it to that novel. Only as a story in and of itself, totally unrelated to the book.) It’s probably pretty clear by now that I while I love reading a wide variety of genres, I don’t enjoy reading Amisih fiction. However, I don’t mind watching movies about the Amish on occasion (provided they get details accurate!).
I am not an expert on the Amish, so I don’t know how much this Amish flick was accurate. Except that when my mom and I first settled down to watch it, we burst out laughing because of the obvious makeup applied to the female Amish characters. I mean, seriously!
But putting trivialities aside, we ended up liking the movie very much. It was probably the best one I’ve seen directed by Michael Landon, Jr. so far, and I liked it a lot better than Saving Sarah Cain (also based on a book by Beverly Lewis). I felt the pace and the mood of the film was kept consistent throughout, which was somewhat heavy and melancholy. Most of the acting was good, and Danielle Panabaker (who played the main character of Katie) carried the role well. Background settings looked realistic. The story itself was good, wholesome entertainment with content you didn’t have to worry about.
This movie is a good family movie that would easily be a good one to watch when grandma and grandpa are over during a holiday and you want to watch something heartwarming. There is a sequel out, The Confession, and there’s possibly a third film eventually following to wrap up the series trilogy. I am looking forward to watching that as soon as I am able! And someday I am hoping Michael Landon, Jr. is able to tackle Lewis’ Abram’s Daughters series as film projects. It’s good to see some Christian fiction in movie-form after long last!
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