Enjoyed It

I saw this last night (streaming on Netflix) and I liked it quite a bit. I'm from Maine, and have done some hiking, so that is what attracted me to it. I have to say that I think everyone could enjoy it, though, not just hikers.

I recognized many of the places that they showed the hikers, especially Monson, Maine. I appreciated the fact that the whole first half of the movie was shot on location on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

I liked that it showed that hiking wasn't necessarily this transcendant experience that brought you revelations about life, and that it also didn't get slapsticky with bathroom humor, or animals, both of which would probably have been in a mainstream Hollywood movie about hikers.

I thought the three main actors did good jobs with their roles, especially the main actress. The ending was a good one, too.

They threw in little things for the viewers who are hikers - like how big the woman's pack was when she was starting out, her dumping a bunch of stuff she realized she could do without when she hit the first town, her wolfing down food at an eatery at one point on the trail, etc.

The only complaint I have with the movie at all was the sound mixing. I don't usually notice the score of a movie, but I had to keep turning the volume down when the music was playing, then turning it back up when the characters were speaking.

I'd recommend this movie to just about anyone, and if you have an interest in seeing beautiful Maine vistas, or seeing the real Appalachian Trail, then I highly recommend this movie.


"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."