Review of Fly Away Home (1996) by Tom A — 09 Nov 2008

Very warm and moving family film from the director of The Black Stallion, Carroll Ballard. When her mom is killed in a car accident, Anna Paquin is taken in by her Canadian father (Jeff Daniels), an obsessive tinkerer and inventor.

When she finds an abandoned nest of Canada Goose eggs, she hatches them on her own and takes care of them as they become full grown -- but her and her father realize these geese will die when they try to fly south as they were never taught which direction to go.

Though beset by many hurdles, together they build a light aircraft so they can lead the geese the way south. The heart of the film is Paquin's journey out of her grief, through caring for these goslings -- becoming a "mother" for the geese has helped fill the void left by the death of her own mother, and helping them on their journey south reflects her journey from child to teenager.

Though it has some simplistic moments, this is a wonderful film -- cinematographer Caleb Deschanel achieves just as much beauty as his previous collaborations with Ballard (The Black Stallion, Never Cry Wolf), especially one stunner when they fly out of the mist and find themselves in downtown Baltimore! Daniels and Paquin are perfect -- father and daughter are practically strangers when they come back into each others lives, and watching them slowly learn to trust each other feels very genuine.

Children will love this film -- the geese are so cute, Paquin is all wide-eyed wonder, and dad Daniels learns to be loving while also entrusting her with her independence. Loosely based on a true story.