Terry Breen

My sister picked this film out. I was hoping for a movie with some action, something like "The Light Horsemen," about the Australian Light Horse in WW I. This movie is not high on action, or zippy one-liners. In fact, it tends to poke along, and I was disappointed. But as the movie slowly unfolds, you come to care for the little girl and her relatives who are taking care of her while her mother deals with a new baby. The girl's father is a class-A jerk. He has a girlfriend (or is she just a regular prostitute?), he wastes money betting on the horses, and loses a calf in a bet. Consequently he doesn't have enough money to pay to have his hay field cut and baled for the winter. He is cold and uncaring towards his family, but especially the quiet girl. When she goes to live with her mother's female cousin and her husband, her "foster" father is the exact opposite of her actual father. He's careful, hard working, and while he's not emotional, he looks after his family, which includes her. The ending is especially powerful, and if you are not deeply moved, you probably need a heart transplant.