Alicia I love this movie so much

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

memboy7 I really liked the pace and length of the movie. It wasn't too long - It didn't drag on and it wasn't so short that it left the main character underdeveloped. The ending was satisfying. Although I admit I found it odd at first that Amelia and the boy were able to sleep all night and wake up covered in snow, I think a lot of the negative reviewers have failed to see the religious/supernatural theme of the movie. It wasn't a documentary or some kind of trendy wilderness reality show. It was about faith and how a woman's spirituality helped her survive. Did you perhaps miss the ending (before the bible verse at the very end) when it was implied that the Indian boy had been an angelic being?

droolmouth Now, I can understand that this movie was not supposed to be a documentary, but it is so laughably inaccurate as a history piece that it keeps taking a viewer outside of what could be a good story. I'm just at the part where the sun, shining from overhead, somehow starts a Bible on fire by shining sideways through the lenses of the pioneer woman's plastic lens bifocals. That's a good thing, because this woefully unprepared pioneer woman does not have any survival skills at all, despite being on the Mormon Trail for 230 days now, according to her tally. Even worse, she has been recently left a widow, as marauding unseen Indians apparently beat her husband to death with pillows (he has no marks or blood on his body) before they were apparently called off to another pillow attack, forgetting to check the wagon for supplies, or a woman to kidnap. So she is left to survive on the trail alone, which would be horrifying, if not for the complete implausibility of her even surviving this long. So you figure she will be all right, since even the raccoons in this movie make enough noise in the woods to be easily located, and the magic eyeglasses will probably zap them, gut them and cook them for her. My point is, if you have a story to tell, do the homework necessary to keep the viewer in the story, not laughing at how ridiculous that last scene was. Yes, research is work, but good writing is work. I'm not asking for the moon here, just . . . She wears dance slippers, for Heaven's sake! Why would she be wearing dance slippers?

larsgoff In a day and age when so many movies are filled with gore, gratuitous sex, nudity, and foul language, The Trail is a clean cut and family friendly film pleasantly void of the aforementioned. Many films are centered around self gratifying plots of exploitation and revenge, but this one provides a story of faith and hope that after being tested emerges stronger on the other side.I watched this on Netflix, and what intrigued me was the single female survivalist plot. Early on there were some disturbing things so I wasn't too sure I'd stay with it to the end until I realized it was really more about faith.In this case, disturbing things means things that are difficult to believe to a point that they turn me off of watching. The first of these is the attack scene. It is actually a well done scene, but the problem lies in the fact that while her husband is being killed and the horses stolen she hides in the back of their small wagon. It is unbelievable that the attackers would have no interest at all in the contents of the wagon. That is exactly what we are to believe, however, as they ride away leaving her undiscovered.Two more difficult stretches are the way she is dressed and that she consistently demonstrates a remarkable lack of resourcefulness. Since they were near their destination she decides to bury her husband and keep moving on foot with only the clothes she is wearing and a small wooden locker of essentials. She is clothed in only a thin cotton dress and a pair of flimsy looking slip on shoes. You would think she would at least take her husbands long underwear and socks and a coat, or perhaps even quickly fashion an outer covering from the blanket she buried him in, but she doesn't.The first sign the movie is going to be about her struggle with her faith in the face of her trying circumstances is when she breaks down with her bible in hand at her husbands graveside and cries out to God, "How could you let this happen?" Later, when she is trying to decide what to take and what to leave behind, she cannot fit the bible in the locker and get the lid closed, so she removes it and starts to walk away. But after a few steps she turns back, retrieves it and makes room for it, signifying that she is not ready to abandon her faith and give up on God just yet.Oh, I almost forgot. One other ridiculous scene is when she is walking through the snow and discovers an abandoned piano. By that point she has spent a number of days in subfreezing temperatures with no gloves, however, she precedes to sit down and play. How she was not frostbitten to the point that she could not do that is a mystery.One interesting element to the plot is her discovery of a little native boy. Again, this takes a little effort to suspend your doubts as to why he would be out there all alone, perfectly healthy and unafraid to go with her. But I have a theory about that.Overall the movie is interesting enough to set its difficulties aside and just go with it. In the end it is satisfying to have the tension resolved as she finally reaches the town that was her destination. However, there is some mystery created in this final scene as well. She and the boy are standing at the top of a ridge, and after briefly looking at the town below, she turns once more to say something to him only to discover he has vanished.At first I wasn't sure what to make of that. Was he only a figure of her imagination? Or, was he an angel in disguise sent in answer to her prayer? After a little thought I decided he must have been an angel since a figure of your imagination would not see you before you saw him, eat food with you or reach out and rescue you from drowning. Also, he never once left her side until she had safely arrived at her destination.Overall I thought this was well worth watching. Glad I stuck with it. Highly recommend it, especially if you appreciate wholesome movies with spiritual themes.

susanquesan I've read all the reviews pointing to the obvious problems with zippers, sweating, costumes, etc.... and I noticed that too but I think it is short-sighted not to point out the things that worked in this movie. This was the director's first film on a very, very small budget and I think he accomplished some very effective scenes. The attack scene was pure genius because it creates terror with no extra expense using a bunch of actors, etc.. The viewer experiences it completely from the woman's point of view. The lead actress is excellent and well directed! I also thought the camera movement around the woman in the woods was excellent and created genuine suspense. Making films is extremely difficult and to just pick away at all the details of sweating, zippers and undergarments, and the fact she never wears a coat is all legit but stops short of the redeeming qualities of this film. In the Coen brothers' re-make of "True Grit" the girl is completely dry after riding her horse across a river! And that's the very well-financed, acclaimed Coen brothers! This film maker has genuine potential and should be encouraged to make more films.