When I Find the Ocean 2008

     The time frame of this film is 1965 in Alabama when marches promoting civil rights were taking place.  Lily Strickland is ten years old and she has gone with her mother to live with her grandparents.  Her father was a sailor and he was lost at sea.  He was never found and that adds to their feelings of loss.  They didn’t get to bury him and pay their last respects.  Lily’s mother is planning to marry Dean.  What Lily’s mother doesn’t know is that his father abused Dean, he was raised with very strict discipline and he had severe punishments for mistakes.  Dean thinks Lily needs to be raised the same way.  He thinks her mother and grandparents are not correcting her enough for her mistakes.  Lily learns that the river by her grandparents’ house leads to the ocean.  She decides to take a small boat with her dog and her pet bunny.  She wants to see the ocean where her father sailed.
     This film is good but it can also try to force ideas down your throat instead of just presenting and talking about the ideas.  That’s my only complaint and I also wanted to do a LOT of beating on Dean!!  Lily’s mother needs to open her eyes and see what’s really going on.  It was nice to see Lee Majors in the role of Lily’s grandfather and Diane Ladd as Lily’s grandmother.  Author and actor Graham Greene is a friend of the grandparents.  George Lindsey has a role as Ed Barker and this is his final film.  There is at least one scene where you can tell Lily's bunny is a stuffed animal?  3* (This movie is OK)

104 min, Drama directed by Tonya S. Holly with Dan Beene, Sara Biddle, Anthony Brooks, Natalie Canerday, Bernie Casey, James Chambliss, James Chapman, Kenny Davis, Timothy Eddy, Dorian Flemming, Trent Friday, Joan Ghrigsby, Edie Hand.

Note:  Imdb 4.1 out of 10, 42% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 179 reviews.