1869. A widow (a fine and affecting performance by Barbara Loden, who also directed) and her family struggle to eke out a living in the bleak and largely uninhabited Kansas plains.
Loden offers a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the period setting as well as makes nice use of the desolate locations and presents a stark and compelling unsentimental depiction of the harsh reality of roughing it in the wild in the 19th century (a surprise unwelcome visit by a hungry and desperate Native American rates as a definite startling highlight). Alas, the rather cornball score lays it on thick at times. Fortunately, the attractive cinematography by Nicholas T. Proferes captures the loneliness of the wide open prairies well. While lacking the raw intimacy of Loden's remarkable film "Wanda," this short is nonetheless worth a watch because of its strong sense of historical accuracy and refreshing dearth of both pretense and melodrama.
Loden offers a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the period setting as well as makes nice use of the desolate locations and presents a stark and compelling unsentimental depiction of the harsh reality of roughing it in the wild in the 19th century (a surprise unwelcome visit by a hungry and desperate Native American rates as a definite startling highlight). Alas, the rather cornball score lays it on thick at times. Fortunately, the attractive cinematography by Nicholas T. Proferes captures the loneliness of the wide open prairies well. While lacking the raw intimacy of Loden's remarkable film "Wanda," this short is nonetheless worth a watch because of its strong sense of historical accuracy and refreshing dearth of both pretense and melodrama.
