The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I bought the movie on VHS and made into a DVD. I feel that the film had a lot to say. I feel that the Canadian government was wrong in taking these children from their homes to a far away school and forced to give up their identity and to develop a new identity and lifestyle. It is fine to teach people such as Indians English, Mathematics, a trade, and other such things, but their culture and their identity as part of an ethnic group, racial minority, or whatever it is shouldn't be erased, forcibly or otherwise. The Canadian government could have brought the schooling to the Indians by establishing schools in the areas that the Indians lived in. This would serve the purposes of teaching the children subjects such as math, science, and English, among other things, but it would keeptheseyoung people together with their families, kept their identity, culture, and customs. In one of the reviews,it was stated that the children could tried to escape from the plane instead of staying in it. Those children were too frightened to think very much, if at all!This movie reminds me of a movie titled "Rabbit Proof Fence," in which Aborigine children in Australia were forcibly taken from their homes and were made into domestic servants. It serves as a fine parallel movie to "Where The Spirit Lives."No government or religion or anything else should keep any group from giving up its identity, life, culture, or anything else. An American Indian tribe was banned from practicing its religious ceremonies for years, but got that right back.A very fine and relevant film.

A movie that all Canadians should see. The horror for Canada's aboriginal children living in Religious Residential Schools needs to be seen by all of our citizens. Seeing this film would be a first step in understanding the dysfunction in many aboriginal families that we often see and hear about today both off and on Canadian Native Land Reserves. Many aboriginal children were literally kidnapped from their reserves by powerful Indian Agents. This was terrifying for both the children and the families. An attempt of assimilation by the government and churches in Canada failed for the most part ruining so many lives. A very good casting and meaningful story make this a film worth watching.I would like to see this film become available to all schools in Canada.

As a non-Catholic and a non-continental Native, this story was completely new to me. The trauma these people endured under the guise of religion was tragic and in no way instilled Christianity, nor did it follow the rules of Christianity. Of course, we hear stories about white children enduring the same sort of mistreatment and abuse.It has been so long since I have seen this movie (my brother recorded it way back then, but I haven't borrowed the tape to see it again) but I do recall it was all wonderfully filmed and how the children spoke friendly to one another, the only other ones they saw that they could relate to.The movie sought to emphasize that not all Anglicans were horrible as the pilot who abducted the children quit after the discovery of the girl who ran away and we did at least have a teacher who realized there were problems when a soft knock came to the door one night.By far, the most enchanting part of this movie was St. Marie's song and music. Definitely captured the culture.Very thought provoking movie.I don't recall if my brother recorded the program that came after it, about the adults now who were subjected to this cruelty. They sported t-shirts that read "I survived Catholic school" and so on.

After seeing this film, I am appalled at how the nuns and priests treated all the Native kids in the past in the residential schools!! What I saw in this film was nothing compared to what happened in real life with kids who were forced to attend these "schools". Of course, I've never attended one so I obviously don't know what went on but after hearing the different horror stories by different Natives on TV, in books, newspapers, etc, I imagine that it was a lot worse for those kids who only wanted to be left alone with their families. The system just didn't care one bit about these kids or the families! All the schools ever did was take the kids away from them and their cultural identities!! Big mistake!! Well......... I'm sorry to say this but although the Church thought they were doing the right thing at the time, it was outright wrong!! Even if the Church apologized for their actions towards all the Native kids who used to attend these "schools", it will never erase the damage that has been done! It had occurred for way too long and too deep.But............... anyways............... this is why I gave this film a 6 out of 10.