Wild Prairie Rose 2016

      The setting of this film is 1952, Rose Miller returns to her rural hometown of Beresford South Dakota to care for her ailing mother.  Over a short time, Rose falls in love with a deaf and mute man, James Hansen.  She must decide if she has the courage to follow her heart.  The roles of women in America were changing in 1950’s America.  Rose learns that people who have great differences can learn to communicate with each other.  This is a focus on one woman’s story but it challenges assumptions about a good life.  Some of the people in Beresford believe that people who are deaf should not have been allowed a life? 

     The scenery of this area with fields and prairies is very beautiful.  Rose Miller has been living in a big city.  She spent WWII as a Rosie the Riveter and in 1952 she works as an executive secretary in a large company.  Rose’s mother is a longtime widow and she is struggling with arthritis and possibly other problems with her health.  She needs help taking care of herself and her home.  Pearl can’t understand why her only child seems not to want anything to do with the place where she grew up?  In some ways, Pearl feels a personal rejection.  

     Rose would like to see a movie but the local theater is closed and the drive is to another one is 40 miles.  She decides she will film her own movie.  James Hansen runs the area repair shop and he is the only one who seems to know anything about cameras?  He uses sign language and this is seen as unacceptable and forbidden in the current schools for the deaf?  Rose begins to learn sign language to communicate with James.  5* (I really liked this movie)

      
90 min, Drama directed by Deborah LaVine and written by Sharon Greene with Betsy Berenson, Maya Brattkus, Deanne Bray, Courtney Jones, Troy Kotsur, Donne McRae, Montana Murphy, Trystan Olbertson, Tara Samuel, Amy Schulz, Cliff Schulz, Samuel Schulz, Suzanne Spoke, Christine Wood.

Note:  Imdb 7.2* out of 10*, theindependentcritic.com 3*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 47 ratings, 1314 likes on Facebook, thefilmyap.com editor rating 3 1/2* user rating 4*, pureflix.com 3.5*.