Well acted, good script. A crime story well worth watching. The true story it depicts is as gripping as most works of fiction. 7.5 stars.
12 Reviews
Excellent crime story
Bot_feeder26 December 2019
Hard to grasp this, considering our tech advantages in 21st Century
canuckteach30 April 2020
I am writing this about a half-hour in-I don't see it getting better than 7. Performances are good and it is 'based on a true story'- so, some of
the weird choices are hard to dispute. The plot involves a youngish boy heading from Ottawa to a small college in Colorado, in an iffy van, and alone.
No cell phones in those days. Hence, if your vehicle breaks down in the boonies, you are royally stuck, esp. if you are on a deadline.
It is interesting to see his family back home after his departure: brother is typing on a manual typewriter, while another listens to a Walkman. Wall phones and phone booths are used to communicate. Assuming this story is based on a real incident, I gotta ask: why not take a Greyhound or a plane trip down? Buy or rent a cheap vehicle upon arrival. The lonely, isolated mid-west is no place to travel alone with a suspect vehicle. Offsetting this is the fact that the boy's dad (split from mom), green card apparently, lives/works in an adjacent state. The expedition still seems very suspect to me, but I expect a suspenseful story with a non-happy ending.
It is interesting to see his family back home after his departure: brother is typing on a manual typewriter, while another listens to a Walkman. Wall phones and phone booths are used to communicate. Assuming this story is based on a real incident, I gotta ask: why not take a Greyhound or a plane trip down? Buy or rent a cheap vehicle upon arrival. The lonely, isolated mid-west is no place to travel alone with a suspect vehicle. Offsetting this is the fact that the boy's dad (split from mom), green card apparently, lives/works in an adjacent state. The expedition still seems very suspect to me, but I expect a suspenseful story with a non-happy ending.
A must-see but disturbing film
cturner-529 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Why would I so strongly recommend a film which I describe as deeply disturbing and which I would never want to see again? The reason is that we live in a world in which we do not adequately understand the dangers around us and how ineffectively our institutions deal with them. In that respect this film is an eyeopener. It is incumbent upon us as a society to do more than try to imagine what a victim and his family go through; since we are involved to some degree in punishing criminals, we must know what their victims experience. As great as this film is (especially Ellen Burstyn's performance), it cannot compare with the original documentary about the actual case. It was called Just Another Missing Kid, and the story was told by the family members and detective involved. (If you are interested in details about the documentary, it was made for a Canadian television series called The Fifth Estate, and it is search-able on IMDb under the title but the heading TV Episodes must be selected from the drop-down menu, since it is not a commercial movie title). We hear, practically daily, about horrific things being done to people, but knowing something of the circumstances and repercussions of one such case is a powerful experience. I vividly remember many details about it even now (some 25 years later), including the criminal's real name. I will never forget the documentary, this subsequent film, this case, this college student with the world ahead of him, and his wonderful family. I still think of them and grieve for them, and with them.
Good story, great acting
rc1990012 November 2019
This is one of Ellen Burstyn's best performances. She is the mother of a young Canadian man who disappears while driving across the US. She hires a private detective to find out what happened because of the inaction of Canadian and American authorities. I won't say anything about the story, because it is a mystery. It is based on a true story. The final five minutes cap the story perfectly. Worth watching. I've seen it twice.
"Jurisdictional complexities"
moonspinner553 August 2017
True story about a missing young man is less a criminal drama or crime-mystery than it is an indictment of the justice system, the entanglements of legal procedures, jurisdictional red tape and the incompetence of government officials. Ellen Burstyn shows true grit as the mother of the college student who vanished, last heard from in Nebraska after his van broke down while driving from Ottawa, Canada to Boulder, Colorado to attend classes. TV-movie has the kid's determined mother, his older brother, his father from Los Angeles and an elderly private investigator running into one roadblock after another while tracking the path of the boy's stolen van, receipts from his credit card and his cashed traveler's checks. Although the film was nominated for an Eddie for Eric A. Sears' editing, its muddled midsection really could have used some paring down (instead of getting answers, such as how one nasty felon with a list of priors managed to pass a lie detector test, we are treated to incidentals at Burstyn's job and the detective's marriage). Also, the opening, showing the high energy relationship between the kid in question and his family, rings false (it's too blatantly perky--I'm guessing to provide a contrast to the bleak circumstances that follow). Frustrated Burstyn gets a chance to blow off some steam, and she's terrific when she takes on indifferent authority figures, however the reenactment at the finale of the boy's fate is extremely hard to watch. A purposefully depressing experience overall, but nevertheless an engrossing story.
A great film, with almost no recognition!
DaveJLA24 August 2006
Recently I sat down to make a list of all the DVD's I want to buy that I know are first rate movies. Years ago, in the 1980's, I saw a film documentary of the real life people this movie was about. A low-life, recently out of jail because the state he committed a crime in didn't want to spend the $200.00 it would have taken the state to keep him in jail for a weekend in a county lockup, gets set free. This low-life roams the country and what happens to this unsuspecting boy is an atrocity that questions the entire human race and what it really is doing here on this planet called Earth!
This great film is based on a true story. You will "believe" this because of the super acting of Robert Prosky. As an observer, I have nothing but good things to say about this film. I want to know why didn't this film get the attention it certainly deserves! I'm a movie junkie, so believe me when I tell you that I know what I'm talking about. I "only" watch good to great movies and this film from the 1980's is one of the best.
Maybe I like it so much because as I view the internal workings of the story, I look at myself in my past and I can connect with the victim of this movie when I was in serious need and ask this world, "Why the hell didn't someone help ME when I desperately needed help? When I was facing the lowest of low-life's and nobody gave a damn about me, where the hell are "MY" rights?"
"Watch" this movie. I will not tell you the story or the plot because I will not ruin it for you, but it's something you will not forget.
This great film is based on a true story. You will "believe" this because of the super acting of Robert Prosky. As an observer, I have nothing but good things to say about this film. I want to know why didn't this film get the attention it certainly deserves! I'm a movie junkie, so believe me when I tell you that I know what I'm talking about. I "only" watch good to great movies and this film from the 1980's is one of the best.
Maybe I like it so much because as I view the internal workings of the story, I look at myself in my past and I can connect with the victim of this movie when I was in serious need and ask this world, "Why the hell didn't someone help ME when I desperately needed help? When I was facing the lowest of low-life's and nobody gave a damn about me, where the hell are "MY" rights?"
"Watch" this movie. I will not tell you the story or the plot because I will not ruin it for you, but it's something you will not forget.
True story that holds no punches
steeleronaldr19 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Up and coming Tate Donovan in his first made for TV movie about a young college kid who goes missing and the issues his mother goes through to find her son. The red tape, jurisdiction, procedures and not to swift FBI tell the story of how a car get more attention than a missing person. Ellen Burstyn gives a stellar performance as the mother getting tired of all the doors being closed and no one doing their job to find her son. The movie ends on a disturbing note on the truth and the aftermath of the family. In all a great movie that will entertain and keep you glued to the end.
First-Rate Mystery Based On Fact
dougdoepke25 November 2019
Riveting mystery as we try to find out what happened to young Brian while on his road trip from Canada to Colorado. It's like he just dropped off the planet as Mom, Dad and brothers search for his missing van and clues to the vanishing. There's a subtext here in what the epilogue states is a true story- namely how red-tape, over-work, and general indifference impedes the official investigation that mainly goes nowhere, whether it's cops, FBI, or administrators. In fact, the epilogue states that thousand of kids go missing every year. Let's hope they get better treatment than the Walker family gets from a ineffectual bureaucracy.
As mom Walker, actress Burstyn delivers, in spades. The anguish and frustration almost drips off her as she encounters one dead end after another in search of her son. About half-way through, focus shifts to a private investigator played by Prosky whose professional skills take over for the exhausted Burstyn who has hired him. For an old movie freak like me, Prosky's homely, overweight, and aging appearance are the polar opposite of the sleekly tough PI's of yore. Nonetheless, he's affecting in his dedication. However, I wish we knew why he carries on in what appears personal dedication rather than just professional. Perhaps it's because of Mom's lingering anguish as the trail seems to go nowhere, while the authorities furnish only excuses. On the minor downside, for me at least, there's no definite sense of place as the search supposedly moves from one state to another. Some such would have provided a greater sense of reality for a scenario that stresses realism. That may be because of budget constraints and the fact that filming was limited to the Vancouver area of British Columbia (IMDB).
Anyway, it's a spell-binding flick with a single-minded narrative whose outcome can't be foreseen. Be sure to catch up unless you're feeling really frustrated, like Mom.
As mom Walker, actress Burstyn delivers, in spades. The anguish and frustration almost drips off her as she encounters one dead end after another in search of her son. About half-way through, focus shifts to a private investigator played by Prosky whose professional skills take over for the exhausted Burstyn who has hired him. For an old movie freak like me, Prosky's homely, overweight, and aging appearance are the polar opposite of the sleekly tough PI's of yore. Nonetheless, he's affecting in his dedication. However, I wish we knew why he carries on in what appears personal dedication rather than just professional. Perhaps it's because of Mom's lingering anguish as the trail seems to go nowhere, while the authorities furnish only excuses. On the minor downside, for me at least, there's no definite sense of place as the search supposedly moves from one state to another. Some such would have provided a greater sense of reality for a scenario that stresses realism. That may be because of budget constraints and the fact that filming was limited to the Vancouver area of British Columbia (IMDB).
Anyway, it's a spell-binding flick with a single-minded narrative whose outcome can't be foreseen. Be sure to catch up unless you're feeling really frustrated, like Mom.
Real story
BandSAboutMovies29 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Ellen Burstyn has no luck with her movie children, let me tell you.
In this movie, she stars as the Canadian mother of a college student who drives a beat up van from Canada to the United States and then disappears. The police barely help, so she hires her own detective (Robert Prosky, Christine, Grandpa Fred from Gremlins 2) to learn the truth.
The search for the van takes the retired detective to Maine, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah. For some reason, the cops offer no help at all and actually get angry that he's on the case.
Into Thin Air was based on the real life case of Eric Wilson, who disappeared after driving from Ottawa to Colorado for a summer college class. It's fictionalized somewhat, as was the documentary Just Another Missing Kid that came out the same year. In that film, director John Zaritsky had the interview subjects recreate their actions for the camera, which isn't really a documentary, right?
In this movie, she stars as the Canadian mother of a college student who drives a beat up van from Canada to the United States and then disappears. The police barely help, so she hires her own detective (Robert Prosky, Christine, Grandpa Fred from Gremlins 2) to learn the truth.
The search for the van takes the retired detective to Maine, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah. For some reason, the cops offer no help at all and actually get angry that he's on the case.
Into Thin Air was based on the real life case of Eric Wilson, who disappeared after driving from Ottawa to Colorado for a summer college class. It's fictionalized somewhat, as was the documentary Just Another Missing Kid that came out the same year. In that film, director John Zaritsky had the interview subjects recreate their actions for the camera, which isn't really a documentary, right?
Maybe if the structure of this film hadn't been so flip, it would have been taken more seriously.
mark.waltz22 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Certainly the disappearance of a child regardless of the age is cause for worry and requires communication with the law, but in the case of this allegedly true story about a college-age kid disappearing on his way back to school after vacation, a lot of important emotional structure and detail is missing to really create a film to engage the viewer. Ellen Burstyn as usual is excellent, playing the mother of three sons who along with them and her ex-husband (Nicholas Pryor) goes out of her way to find out what happened. She's even in denial when they find evidence of forgery that he could be dad's, and arguments among the son's and the ex-husband shows the family to be pretty wacky, fighting over such nonsense as the wearing of the missing teen's clothes and their dealings with the law which brings on the constant dead ends everywhere they turn. Robert Prosky plays the private detective they hire as a big buffoon, and that's another notch against the film.
A lot of allegedly true stories are fictionalized in one way or another for movies, and particularly movies of the week where they are rushed together very quickly. Producers tend to over glamorize families in film to make them a little bit more sophisticated than they really are, and when they're really seeing in TV interviews, the fictional accounts look absurd in comparison to what was really the truth. The actress playing the sons to over exaggerate in their acting and over play the tense situation which when seen alongside Burstyn stands out all the more. Certainly this does have a lot of human interest alongside, but a lot of it also does not really ring true, and given the perspective that the door is closed down on them everywhere they turn does indeed create a bit of doubt as to the full truth, especially since the family is Canadian and the disappearance took place in the United States.
A lot of allegedly true stories are fictionalized in one way or another for movies, and particularly movies of the week where they are rushed together very quickly. Producers tend to over glamorize families in film to make them a little bit more sophisticated than they really are, and when they're really seeing in TV interviews, the fictional accounts look absurd in comparison to what was really the truth. The actress playing the sons to over exaggerate in their acting and over play the tense situation which when seen alongside Burstyn stands out all the more. Certainly this does have a lot of human interest alongside, but a lot of it also does not really ring true, and given the perspective that the door is closed down on them everywhere they turn does indeed create a bit of doubt as to the full truth, especially since the family is Canadian and the disappearance took place in the United States.
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