Movie Review: ‘Lost on a Mountain in Maine’

NEW YORK (OSV News) – In the summer of 1939, the plight of a 12-year-old boy competed for headlines across the country with the European political crisis that would soon culminate in the outbreak of World War II. Young Donn Fendler was wandering on his own in the wilds of New England and was facing long odds against his survival.

Fendler’s story is recounted in the restrained dramatization “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” (Blue Fox). Though the lad’s experience was a harrowing one, this look back at it is ultimately a life-affirming tale about the power of perseverance.

As depicted in Luke Paradise’s screenplay, Donn (Luke David Blumm) is initially a mildly rebellious and discontented lad. Resentful of the amount of time his taciturn, tough-minded father, Donald (Paul Sparks), spends away from home on business, Donn acts out in minor ways and succeeds in annoying his dad disproportionately.

Donn is also frequently at odds with his twin brother, Ryan (Griffin Wallace Henkel). Their loving mom, Ruth (Caitlin FitzGerald), serves as the family’s peacemaker.

When yet another road trip forces Donald to cancel the long fishing expedition to which his sons had been looking forward and instead suggest a short hike on the titular state’s Mt. Katahdin, Donn is more aggrieved than ever. Triggered by a cruel remark from Ryan, Donn’s resentment causes him to run off alone in blind anger, a heedless decision that carries grave consequences.

Realizing too late what he’s done to himself, Donn resolutely presses on, hoping to be rescued. Intensely distraught, Donald and Ruth organize a search party that eventually becomes the largest such effort in the history of Maine. The national press, meanwhile, takes up Donn’s predicament and readers anxiously await the outcome.

In adapting Fendler’s memoir, director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger blends recreated scenes with real-life, much-later interviews with several people involved in the perilous situation.

Viewers will be intrigued by Donn’s complex personality since the same willfulness that contributed to his disappearance makes him stubborn in persistence. They’ll also appreciate the displays of down-east neighborliness celebrated in Paradise’s script.

Additionally, Kightlinger’s picture subtly portrays the often unspoken love underlying the Fendlers’ various family tensions and introduces vague tinges of faith into the retrospective — as when Donn sings the Battle Hymn of the Republic while marching through the woods.

Although it’s probably not suitable for younger kids, “Lost” will prove inspirational fare for older teens and their elders. All the more so since this salute to determination and grit is also a conversion story for more than one of its primary characters.

The film contains mature themes, incidental nonscriptural religious ideas, some grim images, several mild oaths and a single crude expression. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

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