For Western Movie Lovers Everywhere

I first saw the movie "Man From Snowy River" because a friend brought over the VHS tape to watch. I really did not think that I would enjoy it as much as I did, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story takes place in Australia in the late 1800's and centers around an 18 year old boy named Jim (played by Tom Burlinson) who loses his father in a tragic accident and begins his journey into manhood. Jim is part of a group of cowboys who live in the mountains. He is good friends with a man named Spur (played by Kirk Douglas).

After the death of his father, Jim travels to the valley to look for employment. There he meets with a rancher named Harrison (also played by Kirk Douglas). Harrison and Spur are brothers who have not spoken to each other for many years, due to a long-standing argument and the fact that they have totally different lifestyles. Harrison is a high-minded wealthy rancher, while Spur is a scraggly yet kindly mountain man.

While in the valley, Jim meets a girl named Jessica (played by Sigrid Thornton), who happens to be Harrison's daughter. Jim starts working at Harrison's ranch, where he starts to fall in love with Jessica, who is quite attractive, but is a determined tomboy. The early confrontations between Jim and Jessica hint at the future passion that is to come. Harrison tries to discourage Jessica's desire to ride horses, as he wants her to be a proper lady, which she refuses to do.

Jim's work on the ranch is impressive, but the other ranch hands are sarcastic and hostile toward him. They ridicule Jim for his association with Spur. Jim handles this with class and holds his head up as he goes on with his chores.

There is some beautiful scenery in this film as well as beautiful horses. The background music is quite touching as well. The on-screen chemistry between Jim and Jessica is apparent in almost every scene they appear in together. It is obvious that everyone, especially Jessica, is impressed with the way Jim handles the horses and how he risks his life to tame them. Despite this, Jim gets blamed when Harrison's favorite horse runs away, and he fires him. Jessica then risks her life by going out in stormy weather to look for both the runaway horse and Jim. This is the first of many storms that Jim and Jessica will weather together.

The beauty of this movie is that it is a western, an adventure film, and, most of all, a love story. Each character is wonderfully portrayed. You end up loving the two main characters as well as the horses and hating Harrison and the other ranch hands who are determined to destroy both Jim and his love for Jessica. Will they overcome all odds to be together? That remains to be seen!

I have watched this movie many times, and I never get tired of it. I would definitely recommend it!