Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

plutus1947 This was Reese Witherspoon's fourth movie and continued to show this young lady was extremely talented and destined for greatness, which she has duly succeeded in doing.The film is from the Disney Studios and was up to the usual great Disney standards.SPOILER BEGINS The storyline is Nonnie (Witherspoon) lives on an animal reserve on the savanna with her father and mother. The family is fighting the ever increasing murder of elephants and poaching their ivory.Harry Winslow (Ethan Embry), who is slightly older than Nonnie, is visiting on vacation with his father at the time. The Mom and dad, together with Harry's father and the staff are murdered by poachers and they have to trek across the Kalahari Desert in order to get to safety.Luckily they have the help of a bushman Xhabbo (Sarel Bok). During the Trek they make use of the skills they already have together with developing many other lifesaving ones.The rest of the storyline is about catching those responsible for the murders and discovering who the ringleader is.One thing that surprised me was the extremely unusual violence in this 'Disney' film. The slaughter of elephants and the murder of several people.I am sure that if Walt Disney was still alive he would never have allowed a film with this violence to be made in his studios. But I supposed this is a sign of the times.SPOILER ENDS Even though there is violence in the movie I still feel it has been well made and I would certainly recommend it.

phanatic87 I'm not quite sure whether or not this movie would appeal to guys, but I have decided that I am going to comment anyway. This is a good role in Reese Witherspoon's early years as an actress. There is not really much of a romance between the two actors as some critics have suggested (there is just the "obligatory" kiss and later hug at the end of the movie; is that a spoiler?), but the chemistry and friendship between Nonnie (Witherspoon) and Harry (Ethan Embry then known as Ethan Randall) is surprisingly touching. The violence and language is slightly shocking for a PG-rated Disney family movie and there are a few spiritual-related issues (one scene in particular had me saying "Wow. That was weird" and I can't even describe what was happening), but the rest is engaging.

aimless-46 It is unfair to judge a children's film by the same non-technical standards you would judge a film made for a more mature audience. That said, I had a difficult time figuring out the intended target audience for Disney"s "A Far Off Place", an odd mix of "Alaska", "Walkabout", and "Blue Lagoon". Since each of these films had a different target audience (children for "Alaska", adults for "Walkabout", and teens for "Blue Lagoon"), "A Far Off Place" suffers from a poorly matched and confused mix of story elements, the attempt to appeal to multiple target audiences ultimately makes it unappealing to all audiences.Despite some positive comments on this database, "A Far Off Place" did not impress audiences at the time of its 1993 release and has generated little interest since. Based on stories by South African writer Laurens van der Post, "A Far Off Place" is the story of three teenagers: Nonnie (Reece Witherspoon as a girl raised on South African game preserve), Harry (Ethan Randall as a visiting American boy) and Sorel Bok (as their young Bushman guide Xhabbo) who attempt to evade a gang of ivory poachers by fleeing into the Kalahari Desert. Ethan Randall is actually Ethan Embry from "Can't Hardy Wait".Although recommended for ages eight and up, younger viewers will be disturbed by the early scenes, where the family's idyllic life is ended by a night attack on their home by the poachers. The house is burned and the parents are murdered. And more mature viewers will be deeply disturbed by the next scene where Nonnie turns into Rambo and kills most of gang in a sequence credible only to a horrified eight-year old. At this point it begins to look like "Walkabout", a story of an Australian girl, her little brother, and a young Aborigine on his ritual journey to manhood. In a significant deviation from the book Xhabbo's wife does not accompany the group into the desert. "Walkabout's" more adult theme of interracial sexual awakening is replaced by a "Blue Lagoon" romance between the two white teenagers, a reflection of the film's narrower values and more modest ambitions.The scenes shot in the desert are almost the equal of "Alaska" for scenic beauty but "Alaska"s" more realistic survival challenges are superior to the blend of survival skills and mystic powers that Xhabbo demonstrates to his two companions during their journey. There is an element of "The Gods Must Be Crazy" in this clash of cultures but the film does not go very far (bad pun intended) with the concept. Both "Alaska" and "A Far Off Place" insert the element of poacher violence into the journey, to the detriment of the basic story. 'Walkabout" did not need this and found sufficient story material in the enormity of the survival experience.Bok is excellent as the young Bushman and Randall/Embry's performance is solid if unexceptional. Those interested in Witherspoon's early work would be better served checking out her great debut performance in "The Man In the Moon" and avoiding this career misstep. Those looking for a children/family story should stick with "Alaska".Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

patcat88 I saw this film on tv (WAM network on cable). Everything about this movie was good except the book they took this movie from is realllly boring. I have to say that this is the first movie I have seen which has no script gaps (like they constancy include a character but he doesn't do anything) and is easy to understand. Reese and Ethan and Sarel were perfect and charming. The film was real and you can almost see it in real life. The filming was perfect (I don't come to see a movie which is entirely black). Overall this is a overall abnormally good family movie which isn't for brain dead toddlers (like Barney), but that a whole family can watch (even the teenagers) together.You might want to know there are assault rifles in the movie but they kept it to a absolute minimum and put no emphasis on them (not like a bloody action movie). Also your kids should understand that people can die and never come back ("they went to Jesus" would be a good thing to explain). Ultimately they should have chosen another book to do the film on but the film crew did a exceptionally good job at it. And I have no problems with it except the plot is boring (3 kids running across a dessert) but still SEE THE MOVIE WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY!.