Saturday, November 16, 2013

When Calls the Heart: A Film by Michael Landon, Jr.

Disclosure- I received a copy of the movie from Edify Media in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.
About the Movie:

"When Calls the Heart" is the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a cultured young school teacher in 1910 who, through the discovery of her aunt's secret diary, finds the courage to leave her big city home to accept a teaching position in a frontier coal mining town. And in the process, she also finds the potential for love with a handsome Royal Canadian Mountie.

My thoughts:

I am always excited to have the opportunity to review any film by Michael Landon Jr. "When Calls the Heart" is an adaptation from best-selling author Janette Oke, one of the most well-known (and most read) Christian authors on the planet. If you haven't heard of her Canadian West Saga, you have probably heard of her Loves Comes Softly series, several of which were also turned into movies, so you know Oke can craft some amazing love stories. I was interested in "When Calls the Heart" from the opening scene. I love movies about high society in the early 1900's and this one was especially interesting because it was about Elizabeth Thatcher finding her place in this world. She is offered a job at a school in a small town out west, very far away from her family and the life she knows. Her parents are pretty weary of her going, as is her sister. Elizabeth begins reading the diary of her namesake, her aunt, who also took a teaching post. The two Elizabeth's stories parallel each other, so it is a fun movie to watch, since it is set in two different time periods. I really enjoyed the flashbacks of the elder Elizabeth's adventures in teaching and with her own Mountie. The present day Elizabeth struggles with whether or not she can handle being on her own, but she really wants to try. I thought this was a great story to bring to life on the screen and I enjoyed all of the actor's portrayals of their respective characters. I especially enjoyed seeing Maggie Grace play the role of the elder Elizabeth Thatcher. There is a great behind the scenes look at the movie on the dvd that I loved. It is always so interesting to get insight into how a movie is made, what the actors think about the characters and where the movie is filmed.  I was excited to hear in the special features that the Where Comes the Hearth will become a television series on Hallmark and that this movie is to be considered a 2 hour pilot. It left on a pretty big cliffhanger, so I look forward to seeing Elizabeth Thatcher's story unfold completely. The series is set to continue January 2014.

"When Calls the Heart" debuted on the Hallmark Channel to more than 3.2 million viewers, making it the No. 1 movie of the week on ad-supported cable. It will be available to purchase on DVD at Christian Retailers November 19, 2013.


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Watch the movie trailer below:

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