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Jason Patric,
Jason Patric,
Thandie Newton,
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John Duigan,
John Duigan
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: Miramax
: Drama, Costume Drama/Period Piece
: 92 min.
: English
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This drama chronicles the moral fortitude and courage of a simple North Carolina farmer in 1815. The trouble begins when the widowed farmer August King takes his wagon to a nearby town to get supplies and make the final payment on his land. He arrives to find the townsfolk quite agitated as two slaves have escaped from the estate of Olaf Singletary, the richest man in town. August had earlier seen the fleeing 17-year-old slave girl. That night, he is camped out and the starving runaway stumbles in. August is a good, highly-principled man and decides to ignore his own personal risk and help her. He conceals the fugitive from Olaf and his posse as he hurries back to the safety of his farm. Still despite his efforts, word leaks out that a traveler is harboring the slave and that he has a milk cow attached to the back of his wagon. To fool the pursuers, August kills his cow, and later as he is shooting some wild rapids he loses his new pig. Eventually, August comes upon Olaf and sees him capture the other slave and brutally chop him up because he is angry that the young slave girl, for whom he has a special reason for wanting back, isn't with him. By the time August makes it back to his home, almost everything he values has been lost or destroyed, but he has learned some valuable lessons about what is really important in life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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| Must-See Americana
by squad
August 12, 2004 - 8:27 PM PDT
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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Journey of August King
There are two films here, but they belong together. The first film is a treasure trove of Americana and Appalachia, with superb reenactment of the frontier. It is visually awe inspiring, an immersion in natural beauty. The second film is about the complex character of the frontiersman and the issues of human economics, law, and morality. It is grim reminder of the exploitation and cruel facts of survival that is human behavior throughout history to this day. The two films, blended together, stimulate uplifting emotions and also sobering reality. Here we have an early image that grew into the conflict over state's rights and abolition eventually leading to a war that nearly destroyed the nation. The fearsome and the wonderfully awesome are wedded here in a film that for the student of American history is not to be missed. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.50)
2 Votes
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