Movie Review – Found Wandering Lost – A Strong Story which could have been told better
Table of Contents
My Rating – 3 out of 5
Plot Summary (Storyline) – Found Wandering Lost
This is one of those films whose cinematography is far better than the other elements of the film and that too is due to the beautiful and verdant setting in which the film is set. Which in this case are the Flint Hills in Kansas. The haunting solitude of the vast open spaces and sprawling greenery at times makes you feel that you are the first human there, except for the roads that pass through the place. Shot totally with a GoPro and another Panasonic camera with no List A stars, this has the look and feel of an Indie movie, but it falls short on many counts. Let’s take a deeper dive into it…
Trent (Kyle Dyck) is a sort of handyman who is on the run from the mob/cartel/bunch of criminals he works for. It is not clear what he did for them or how he exactly offended them. He is on the run with his girlfriend Allison (Jennifer Seward), who is neither aware of Trent’s background or what he does for a living, even, why he is running! Apparently, they are headed to Denver, imagining the sunset they’ll witness along the way from the picturesque Flint Hills. Living in crappy motels, eating takeaways, Allison wonders when they can live it up a bit, when Trent’s past catches up with them!
Trent has something his employers want and they threaten to find him and torture those near him to get their hands on it. A rattled Trent decides to take off, separating from Allison to spare her the torment. A reluctant Allison agrees to meet Trent in Denver once they both reach there, separately. As Trent hikes through the backcountry roads, hoping to escape detection and capture, two assassins are despatched by his employers to track him down. As Trent hikes along, hoping to hitch a ride, he gets bitten by a rattlesnake and faints by the roadside. He is rescued by another hiker, Ben (Jeffrey Staab), who wanders along these backcountry roads for many years now.
Slowly, an uneasy friendship develops between Trent and Ben, and they open up with their life stories to each other. Right here was an opportunity to blossom a poignant tale of love and loss (especially for Ben), but it gets rather crudely handled. Since director Nicholaus James has himself written the story, he has no one else to blame! While the rest of the story meanders along to a rather predictable climax, one wonders what could have been if the director had decided to flesh out the human aspects of Ben and Trent’s past. He leaves a lot to be explained and the audience is left scratching their heads as to what happened at these stages.
Conclusion – Movie Review of Found Wandering Lost
Like I mentioned earlier, the slim thread of a story is kind of mishandled and mistreated. We are never told what actually happens to Ben’s family, if he is roaming the roads of Kansas, where does his sustenance money come from? What was Trent’s job exactly? What did he steal? Why did he think he could get away with it? There are too many random coincidences that happen which are impractical, some scenes are never explained. Overall, this has the feel of random ideas put together in a hodge podge manner and coupled with the fact that most actors are pretty wooden and uncomfortable in emotional sequences, one feels let down.
It could have been a far better movie, if it was handled and treated right, but it wasn’t, and the total end product ends up being quite disappointing. Not recommended, but watch it at your own peril, just remember that you have been suitable warned!
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