Southbounders

An excellent coming of age story. The movie is beautiful. It was obviously a labor of love for the director and many others involved. The characters are very real. If you ever did all the "right" things that everyone wanted to you and then wondered on on earth your life ended up where it did then you will related to the main character.

While I understand that Wagner has no intention of making a career out of making family friendly films, this one is just that. Or maybe an adult family friendly film since young children would not be interested. You can however watch it with your grandmother, your mother's best friend, and your most uptight aunt and no one will be uncomfortable. I speak from personal experience.

I caught this film on Saturday at the SMMASH film festival in Excelsior, MN. It was completely sold out and the Director and lead actors were in attendance. I had heard of people hiking the Appalachean trail before and had heard of a documentary about a guy who made the hike last year that I thought might be this movie. Turns out this was a narrative and not a doc, but still excellent.

You would think that a movie about people walking wouldn't be very interesting, but they really did a good job focusing on the personal relationships on a life changing adventure. Accurately went through the ups and downs and it was obvious that Ben Wagner had been through some of these experiences himself. I wish there would have been a Q&A afterward so I could have asked him some questions about the making of the movie.

Slackpack steals many scenes. Christopher McCutchen is super funny. If you see this movie around, you should check it out.

This is a documentary that collided with a romantic comedy. The movie was released in 2005 and was very well written. If you are a prolific hiker or watch the movie a couple times you see a lot of little facts that are great. Movie has a large number of details that the writer could have only known about from hiking the AT. Very well made and if you are interested in hiking you will love this movie. Additionally, the lead character is a female which few films have successfully done. The sound track is also very well done. The composure of the music really connected with the content.

The other reviewers are correct. Watch this movie!!

I am not an outdoorsy type of person. Nor am I particularly interested in nature, hiking or athleticism. But I looked up long enough from old re-runs of Dr. 90210 to catch this quietly beautiful film. It really captures the loneliness and beauty that people tell me exists outdoors. This is a realistic take on young romance and is a fantastic coming of age story. The acting is superb and the soundtrack is perfection. Any under-achieving over-achiever will be drawn into this realistic portrayal of a lost but yet ambitious young woman hoping to find herself. How anyone could sleep in the outdoors for six months is beyond me, but it was fascinating to learn about this aspect of a sub-culture. Southbounders, I think I love you!

The story is simple, eloquent, and heartfelt. The subtle strength of the acting adds a truthful reality that is rarely found in films these days. There are no answers, no huge plot twists, no Hollywood hoopla ... it is simply a taste of three people's journey of self discovery ... and, the Appalachian Trail provides the perfect backdrop. This film captured it's mysterious allure, the painful determination, the thrown-together friendships, and the lonely hike. There's some romance (REAL life romance between Olivia and Rollin -- the kind that's messy, tentative, and confusing), some humor (provided quite wonderfully by the character of Slackpack), breathtaking scenery, and a "feel good" uplifting nature by the end. And the score rocks!!! Bravo!! I want more films like this!