Watch Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog For Free

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I was hooked into this low budget film after the boat accident. I also have a lab and was impressed with how well trained "Yellow" was. But I gave it a 2 rating based on it completely jumping the shark at the end. Not only will watching a dog fall 127 feet traumatize your kids, the suspension of disbelief that the dog actually survived with only a broken/hurt leg is asking too much. And to end the film begging viewers to believe "Yellow" swam off the island and walked 149 miles back home is pathetic. Quite frankly, I would have given it a higher rating if it had taken the Old Yeller route instead with the same moral of "the dog makes the ultimate sacrifice by trying to protect the boy who would not have survived to that point if not for the dog." But then, children wouldn't watch it a 2nd time in today's world. For the record, I watched Old Yeller at least a few x every year growing up, and understood why it affected people both positively and negatively (which is what good films should inspire to do).

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.

This is a locally made movie, so my expectations were low. It was a gripping tale. First, the characters were all thoroughly likable, none of the Hollywood cliché petty cruelties and insults. The landscapes are spectacular and menacing. The imaginative use of mixed sound and music gives a heightened sense of reality. Even though I saw it on a relatively small screen, it has much of the emotional impact of IMAX. Of course yellow dog steals the show since she is so sincere. This is not a cute film, but a rather scary tale of getting lost, survival and rescue.Only in retrospect did I wonder how the climatic scene was done. I still wonder if everyone, including yellow dog risked their necks to shoot it. The natural world dangers in the film were similar to dangers I have lived myself, so they seemed ever so much more frightening than guns and bombs. It would be a bit too frightening for small children.Even though I knew I was being strongly manipulated by the inevitable happy ending, I could not help myself from bursting into tears.

There should be more of this kind of film. This is one that the family could watch and enjoy. I find the best movies need not to have all of the bad language to make them enjoyable. It may be that someday the film industry may get the message.