Shenandoah is a wonderful, sentimental tale about a Virginia farmer who refuses to endorse either side in the American civil war, being deeply opposed to both war and slavery. That is, until his youngest son is taken prisoner by the Yankees for wearing a Confederate cap he came upon by chance by the creek.
From this point on, the film becomes somewhat an intermingling of different story-telling types. It obviously bears a lot of resemblance to John Ford's "The Searchers": the same type of epic journey against all the odds, the voyage of self-discovery. The major difference is that in this film we see three sides of the story: the story of James Stewart and five of his remaining children on their quest, the story of his captive son escaping from the Yankees, and a brief look at his other son and daughter-in-law back home at the farm. It mixes the stories well to great effect. The other difference between this and The Searchers is essentially the realism. What Ford had in drones in his film of nine years beforehand, director Andrew V McLagen lacks here. At some points it drops out of reality and looks like a Capra-realised fairytale within a western setting. It's the sort of thing that makes you smile if you're willing to; otherwise it will just make you cringe.
However, despite these occasional slips into a dreamworld of delirium, it does have deaths: don't think you're receiving a full-blown kiddie flick with this film, and there is a very moving sequence later in the film when Stewart talks to the grave of his late wife.
This was the second of McLagen's films I've discovered; it's easily the better of the two although both have led me to the conclusion that he is a maker of fine films. There's nothing monumental or spectacular about them but he creates very solid entertainment, and both have been ultimately very satisfying.
I decided to try not to say anything about Stewart since I'm incredibly biased on that score but here, I failed, he's brilliant as usual in another great role full of high morals and mental toughness. It seems as though he's almost playing a character composite of two previous roles of Ransom Stoddard and Jefferson Smith. There really are a lot of similarities. The supporting cast also backs him up to a fine degree.
Overall, Shenandoah is great for evening viewing and it's unlikely that it will not touch you in some way. The occasional lack of credibility loses it marks but otherwise worthy of **** / *****
From this point on, the film becomes somewhat an intermingling of different story-telling types. It obviously bears a lot of resemblance to John Ford's "The Searchers": the same type of epic journey against all the odds, the voyage of self-discovery. The major difference is that in this film we see three sides of the story: the story of James Stewart and five of his remaining children on their quest, the story of his captive son escaping from the Yankees, and a brief look at his other son and daughter-in-law back home at the farm. It mixes the stories well to great effect. The other difference between this and The Searchers is essentially the realism. What Ford had in drones in his film of nine years beforehand, director Andrew V McLagen lacks here. At some points it drops out of reality and looks like a Capra-realised fairytale within a western setting. It's the sort of thing that makes you smile if you're willing to; otherwise it will just make you cringe.
However, despite these occasional slips into a dreamworld of delirium, it does have deaths: don't think you're receiving a full-blown kiddie flick with this film, and there is a very moving sequence later in the film when Stewart talks to the grave of his late wife.
This was the second of McLagen's films I've discovered; it's easily the better of the two although both have led me to the conclusion that he is a maker of fine films. There's nothing monumental or spectacular about them but he creates very solid entertainment, and both have been ultimately very satisfying.
I decided to try not to say anything about Stewart since I'm incredibly biased on that score but here, I failed, he's brilliant as usual in another great role full of high morals and mental toughness. It seems as though he's almost playing a character composite of two previous roles of Ransom Stoddard and Jefferson Smith. There really are a lot of similarities. The supporting cast also backs him up to a fine degree.
Overall, Shenandoah is great for evening viewing and it's unlikely that it will not touch you in some way. The occasional lack of credibility loses it marks but otherwise worthy of **** / *****