Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

I LOVED this movie - and I not only watch a lot of them, but I'm pretty discerning about not watching garbage. This movie not only had a great moral point; the acting was superb and the character development was fantastic. Nothing shallow here. Some of it was a bit far-fetched - such as the overnight decision to allow custody without court hearing, no comments about HOW they arrived in Oregon - did they fly? If so, what did the kids think of that? Also, after seeing the cut scenes I had to wonder why they were omitted, especially the endearing part with the littlest girl - SO sweet.I was, overall, transfixed and touched. I live not far from a huge Amish community, and will now look at these hardy, committed folks as individuals, not oddities.It's also GREAT to have a movie that affirms FAITH! We need more like this one!

Do family films have to be devoid of edge and energy? This rather bloodless, tepid story should have been good. Even with an interesting concept, the story line has no surprises or revelations, and from time to time makes no sense. The main character and her boyfriend have zero, and I mean ZERO chemistry. Elliot Gould has the newspaper editor she works for is wasted, with some ploddingly delivered lines that might have been brighter had it not seemed as though everyone's dialog was delivered very slowly on purpose. The charming kid actors struggle to bring something believable to the boring dialog and for the most part do the best job of making the film watchable. The omnipresent and cliché score got on my nerves, never letting the story tell itself. This is worth watching, though, for the utterly breathtaking look of the film, especially the Amish farms in winter. Every frame is painterly and perfectly composed.

It's not a bad movie, and is rather touching. Definitely sends the 'right' message for young people and families.I live in Lancaster, PA. This movie is so full of inaccuracies about the Amish that I can't give it a full recommendation. Please don't watch this and assume you've learned about the Amish and their way of life.We laughed when we heard the Amish 'elder' speaking--Amish don't have German accents! And Amish bonnets don't look like that. I could go on.Suffice to say, the Amish aren't at all as innocent of our way of life as we'd like to believe them to be.

Michael Landon Jr. is great at writing for his core audience. My wife and I loved the movie and even my 8-year-old came in and started watching it. It has solid acting (*except* for Elliot Gould, IMO), especially for children in difficult roles.I can't believe that a movie of this quality was originally made on a cable network budget! The soundtrack is among the top 5 that I have ever heard. It really captures the emotion and drama and features some great modern but sensitive tracks by Mark Mckenzie featuring a couple outstanding tracks by Sixpence None The Richer and Barlowgirl. I rarely say "Wow, that was a great soundtrack," (last time was The Mission, I think) so it really stood out, especially since TV movies usually have lousy soundtracks.If you like Michael Landon Jr.'s other movies (or the typical "Hallmark" movie), you will love this one.