A Far Off Place (1993)

or comfortable .or classic children film , ignoring the expectations of the young public. because it is one of sweet stories about brave young people, generous bushiman, noble revenge and adventure in clean style. and the only good thing remains the cast and its effort to save a too generous script in idyllic perspective about the survive.

I've voiced my displeasure at the current state of Disney movies before and pointed out how vastly different they are in the 21st Century to movies that were made as recently as the 90s.Reese Witherspoon plays Nonnie Parker and Ethan Embry her reluctant friend Harry. Both kids are living with their parents in rural Africa when their home is attacked by Ivory poachers. With their bushman friend Xhabbo as a guide the kids take off across the Kalahari desert to reach the safety of the coast and nearest town, while the poachers plan to kill off their only witnesses.A Far Off Place opens with the massacre of a herd of elephants. The killers themselves are then mercilessly gunned down by supporting hero Col. Theron. Would Disney DARE allow a scene like this in the 21st Century? Look at the quality of Tim Allen's The Shaggy Dog and you'll find your answer. For any family-orientated movie it takes some nerve to open with killing such as this but even 16-year-old Nonnie herself is at ease yielding a rifle and doesn't hesitate to blow-up bad guys.The African desert scenery is gorgeous and director Mikael Salomon (who also made the underrated Hard Rain) fills the movie with lovely cinematography. The dunes, the blue sky, the night sky...it all makes you wish for a sunny holiday.A Far Off Place (a combination of two novels "A Story Like the Wind" and "A Far Off Place" by Laurens Van der Post) is not a well known movie and is quite hard to find, but it's worth hunting down. A shame that such a good movie has fallen off the radar.

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.

I saw "A Far Off Place" in the theaters. At the time, I wasn't familiar with Reese Witherspoon. When I was reading about her a few years later, I was a little surprised to find out that the girl in "A Far Off Place" was her. "AFOP" might teach you all that you need to know about poaching. It portrays Nonnie Parker (Witherspoon) and Harry Winslow (Ethan Embry) having to flee into the Kalahari with guide Xhabbo (Sarel Bok) after their camp gets attacked by poachers. Throughout the trip across the desert, the three of them not only get to know each other, but get a feel for the land. This is one movie that you're sure to like.