Fly Away Home (1996)

Directed by Carroll Ballard. Starring Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney, Jeremy Hatchford, Holter Graham, David Hemblen, Ken James, Michael J. Reynolds. [PG]

After her mother dies in a car accident in New Zealand, daughter Paquin travels to the other side of the world (Ontario, Canada) to live with her artist/inventor father (Daniels). There, she becomes the “mother” of a flock of orphaned goslings, but they don’t have a winged mother to lead them south for the winter, which leads to dad and daughter assuming the role themselves by guiding their path in ultralight aircraft to a wildlife reserve in North Carolina. Fine family film would have profited from more attention to the developing relationship between Daniels and Paquin, and it becomes rather hokey whenever the script manufactures crises or antagonists to impede the migratory efforts, but the uplifting spirit of the heartfelt endeavor is irresistible. Expertly photographed by Caleb Deschanel, and numerous shots of flight and nature are breathtakingly beautiful, even exhilarating. Mark Isham’s triumphant music is also a considerable asset, and Mary Chapin Carpenter’s cover of “10,000 Miles” (rearranged from folk ballad “Fare Thee Well”) is put to poignant use. Very loosely based on the true story of Bill Lishman’s geese-training efforts and zoologist Dr. William J.L. Sladen’s experiments in the field of migration.

73/100