EXODUS FALL

EXODUS FALL is a small independent family drama with some good values but with some drawbacks that undermine its overall effectiveness.

The movie opens in 1974 with three teenagers stuck in the desert because their old station wagon has got a flat tire. Kenneth, the older brother, is trying to change the tire while his younger teenage sister, Charlotte, looks after his younger teenage brother, Dana, who suffers from autism. The three teenagers are anxious because they see a young bearded man approaches. The man, a Vietnam vet named Travis who just got out of the war about a year ago, helps Kenneth change the tire. He tells Kenneth and his siblings to do the same as he is doing: help others in need.

The teenagers and Travis go their separate ways, but Kenneth ends up offering Travis a ride. Soon, Kenneth is telling Travis their story. The teenagers are using their dead father’s old car to find refuge with their kindly grandmother in Oregon. Instigating their flight is their alcoholic, abusive mother (who’s never gotten along with the grandmother, the mother-in-law). The mother selfishly put Dana in a bad mental home, but Kenneth and Charlotte have broken him out of the home.

On their way to Oregon, the teenagers agree to give Travis a ride to Utah so he can deliver a letter to the mother of his dead friend, who died in Vietnam. The teenagers are risking discovery by the police. They are comforted, however, by the last words of their father before he died, that he will be watching over them from Heaven.

EXODUS FALL is a touching movie that is beautifully shot and acted. The music is wonderful, especially when you consider this is the two directors, Chad Waterhouse and Ankush Kohli’s, first feature-length movie. That said, the jeopardy in EXODUS FALL could be stronger. There’s also a long flashback in the first act, with narration by Kenneth, that slows down the plot and contains too much exposition. Much of this could have been handled more effectively and more simply by visuals rather than a voiceover.

Although the father has died and the mother is a mess, the movie stresses family bonds. As one of the directors told MOVIEGUIDE®, family members need to stick together when life throws you a curveball. There’s also a touching scene where Travis reads his friend’s last letter to his friend’s mother. Travis also tells the runaway teenagers to show kindness to other people in need. Finally, EXODUS FALL ends on a note of repentance, reconciliation and the beginnings of redemption in the broken relationship between the teenagers’ mother and their grandmother. This ending reinforces the message that family members need to stick together.

These positive themes, however, are marred by some foul language and a scene where Dana, the autistic brother, steals a vase. Kenneth rebukes Dana, but the runaway siblings don’t correct the mistake. Also, the movie makes it clear that, after her husband dies, the alcoholic mother has men stay overnight with her. Finally, at the height of the teenagers’ despair, Charlotte wonders if God hates them, then asks God to strike their abusive mother dead.

All in all, therefore, EXODUS FALL has some rewarding moments for media-wise viewers, but it requires caution for older children because of the foul language and the movie’s other objectionable elements.