Seasons of the Heart

Seasons of the Heart is a lovely and lyrical film about loss, grief, recovery, and spiritual renewal. Beautiful cinematography and a gorgeous musical soundtrack serve as a foundation and poignant backdrop for solid performances by an entire cast of exceptional actors: Leigh Lombardi, perfect as Martha, who loses her two golden-haired daughters to cholera while on a trek out west to Oregon in 1862, handsome and rugged Sam Hennings, as Jed, the patient and kind, loving husband, and little freckle faced red-haired Logan Hall as Daniel, a boy who has lost both parents on the journey west, who is adopted by Martha and Jed. Rounding out the cast is Claude Akins in his last film role as a wise, kindly preacher, and Yvonne De Carlo (who recently passed away) doing the narration of the old Martha, looking back over the events we are witnessing during the film's storyline.

One does not need to be a religious person to enjoy this film. It touches on universal themes of loss and restoration. We all know what it's like to lose someone we love through death: this film chronicles the grieving process of the human heart. It goes through seasons: winter, the deepest cut of grief, summer, when grief blisters and starts to heal, autumn, representing a step backward, and spring, when the heart finds acceptance and peace and looks forward to a new beginning.

A highly recommended film for the entire family to enjoy and learn from together. If you've recently experienced a loss in your own family due to death this film might just help you to heal, even a little bit.

10 out of 10.