Customer Reviews

Skylark [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Skylark makes a promise to the viewer and then fulfills it. Sarah is a mail-order bride from Maine and this is the sequel to "Sarah, Plain and Tall." In the first movie, Sarah and Jacob write letters, fall in love and then marry. They are now even more in love and are committed to making their way on the dusty Kansas prairie.

Water is so essential to life and the scenes of the Maine coastline contrast with the dusty land in Kansas. Both the land and the sea can call your heart, but only one owns Jacob's soul. The land. It is where he lives and breathes free. His stubbornness is very apparent, yet it is only that he hopes for rain and believes his commitment to the land will be rewarded.

As the drought hits, their friends and neighbors start to abandon their farms. Sarah keeps saying she won't leave, yet her heart is not with the land. Together they battle fires with wet "feed" sacks. I could smell the fire and feel the coarse sacks because we had to put out a fire once when I lived on a farm in Africa. It is fighting with nature and when you win there is nothing like it.

This movie did remind me a bit of the movie: Out of Africa. It had the same quiet stillness and deep thoughtfulness. Glenn Close and Christopher Walken just have to look at one another for sparks to fly onscreen, yet the characters share a smoldering fire.

The love between Jacob and Sarah smolders throughout the entire movie and is a tribute to marriage. Even though Sarah says: "Sometimes what people choose to write down on paper is more important than what they say," there are some things that must be shared in person. Sarah leaves the best secret for last.

If you have ever felt a love for the earth or inhaled the scent of a newly soaked field....or if you have ever stood in the rain... this is your movie! If you have never lived the country life, indulge your vision and poetic nature. Perhaps soon you will want to travel more or even move away from the city life.

A completely enchanting, yet slow paced story focusing more on emotions and family ties. A story about love of family, love of the land and the chance people take when they marry for better or worse. The theme of families being able to stick together in life, is magical and very refreshing. There is something to be said for true love when it comes from a decision to love.

The last scene is so poignant, I won't spoil it for you even thought I would love to tell you what Sarah does to solidify her commitment to her man and her country. This is a romantic movie, but is well suited for family viewing. Skylark is as refreshing to the soul as rain is to the parched earth.

~The Rebecca Review

Sarah Wheaton (Glenn Close) is a mail-order bride in 1910 who answers an ad for a "wife" to "make a difference" in a families life. She moves from Maine to Kansas (a long train ride). The man she answers to is Jacob Witting (Christopher Walken). He and his 2 kids (Anna and Caleb) are still mourning the death of his wife, Katherine, after 6 years. She writes to them many times before deciding to do a 30 day trial in which she lives with the family to see how things work out. They go through many hardships before everything turns out ok in the end. Then, in the sequel, their prarie is threatened by a drought. Jacob keeps on insisting that she (Sarah), Anna, and Jacob leave so that their lives aren't in danger. Sarah doesn't want to leave her husband on the prarie alone because of fear for his life. Jacob finally pursuades her and the children to go live for awhile with Sarah's aunts in Maine until the drought is over. Sarah and Jacob are forced apart until after the rain has come. It seems like Sarah can't live without Jacob the whole time they are apart, and she can't stop thinking about him at all. There is also a secret that Sarah has yet to share with Jacob, but saves that until the end! I loved this movie more than "Sarah Plain and Tall". The love that Sarah and Jacob have for eachother is like no other! I want to quote one part of Sarah and Jacob's conversations at the end. "Here I was like a child come home to my beautiful sea, and I should have been happy, but I was frightened. I mean, I AM frightened because....this terrible love....for you is so strong....that I've never known such a thing before." - Sarah. I just looooove that part of the movie because it's said with such passion! You can see the love in her eyes for Jacob (even though it is just acting) that's almost real! This is a MUST SEE movie for those who love a good romance! I didn't think I was going to like this movie because I was about 8 years old when it came out. Now I'm 17, and I can't stop watching it! It's also a good family movie! You won't regret seeing this movie if you are a romance movie freak!

This sequel to Sara, Plain and Tall is just as wonderful as the first. We loved it, and we were also glad to see that it went along with the book story line. This movie is so moving, and all around enjoyable.

Glenn Close is wonderful as Sarah, a mail order bride who travels from the sea coast of Maine to the dry farmland of Kansas. Great for kids of all ages.

The Kansas prairie of 1910 is in the grip of a disaterous drought. The strength of love and family are tested as the Witting family struggles against the hardships of the drought stricken land.
Glenn Close is Sarah Witting, two years after coming to Kansas as a mail order bride, Sarah works hard to preserve the family life she and Jacob played by Christopher Walken have begun. The children, Anna played by Lexi Randall and Caleb played by Christopher Bell, add emotion and hopes for the future to this meaningful family film.
As the dangers and hardships of the desolate land build Sarah and Jacob are faced with separation. This drama filmed in color is enhanced by the musical scores of David Shire which provide a back drop so appropriate you can almost feel the hot wind and the struggle with the land.
It is the perfect continuation of the original "Sarah Plain and Tall" story. Some of the players from that film return. Matthew (Jon DeViries)and Maggie (Margaret Sopie Stein) are still neighbors and friends. They also bring to life characters only mentioned in part one. The Aunts are portrayed perfectly by Tresa Hughes as Matty, Lois Smith as Lou and Elizabeth Wilson as Harriet. The family curmudgeon and friend, Chub or Chubbers is played by Lee Wilson.
With the skill of the stars and supporting cast this film continues the story of the Witting family wonderfully. Skylark leaves you asking what happens next but still has the ability to stand alone as a complete story and I recommend it as good family viewing.

I was glad to find this VHS. I have been looking for it for a while. I was out of town when it came, so I am not sure of the service part, but it came in the condition it was described.

This is one of the best family movies I have seen. There are 3 in the series & I love every one of them. They are so real to life experiences of frontier life & there are times I think I was born in the wrong era. Yes they had hardships but friends and neighbors pulled together to help one another in a crisis, unlike the people today.

If you saw Sarah Plain & Tall, you will want to see Skylark to complete the story. The children are the same actors (but older, of course) making the story a realistic continuation. Again, Christopher Walken & Glenn Close work well together. Good story of hard life in the mid-west.

I am a fourth grade teacher and we read an excerpt from Skylark in our Reading curriculum. I did a follow-up compare and contrast by watching the movie and the kids loved it!! Glenn Close is wonderful in her part and the movie is fantastic! I am so glad I found it on Amazon...I will use it year after year.

This is a very good family video. We have enjoyed the whole series (3)