Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

josiahkwhite Politically, it's definitely controversial. That's perhaps the film's strongest point: that it'll get you thinking and talking about some important issues. It's not a bad little film at all.It is a "little" film. It has some of the same themes as a true classic like American Beauty. It's no classic, though. On the other hand, it's not easily forgettable, like most little films are.To avoid spoiling the movie, I'll try to create a good analogy. Imagine a father who gets "raped" in divorce court, losing custody of his children, even though he's a much better parent than his ex is. What if this father then kidnaps his kids, spirits them away to another state, and his kids get their pictures on "have you seen me?" milk cartons.Then imagine that the father gets arrested and charged with kidnapping. Yet the movie goes out of its way to paint him as the good guy, the innocent victim. That kind of movie would certainly anger a lot of people, wouldn't it? Hillary supporters would sure hate it.This movie isn't about divorce and custody rights. Instead, it's about an even more controversial theme, to the point where it's likely to anger Trump supporters as well. (The movie doesn't make conservative Christians look good at all.) So consider yourself warned. I like controversial movies like this, especially those which are a little ahead of their time.

ScottNichols This is a story of forgiveness and redemption about two people who made a terrible, costly mistake six years earlier in their lives, when one was a young adult and the other a minor. The flashbacks reveal that both were at fault. That mistake and the subsequent lies told by the minor and her father (a Christian pastor, by the way) cost the young man six years of his life and ostracism in his home town after his return.Contrary to the claim of another reviewer, the plot made no excuse for statutory rape. And that reviewer, while stating that the young man, a youth pastor at his church, began a sexual relationship with the 15- year-old daughter of the pastor, omitted the fact that she came on to him and that he tried to reject her advances precisely because she was under age. Yes, he kept her letters, but not because he didn't take his recovery seriously. He's a man with a heart, and he truly cared for her.The punishment he received was unjust because the girl and her father (reminder, he's a Christian pastor) lied under oath at the trial. The girl admitted that when she sought him out after he returned to the town. I'll state that again--she sought him out, not vice versa. She wanted his forgiveness.The film does not try to mitigate his crime. The film does not try in some convoluted way to blame the girls' father (again, a Christian pastor who lied under oath). The film does not contend that he's cured (I don't even know what the reviewer is referring to here). In no way did the film attempt to justify James' action. Contrary to the reviewer's claim, James did in fact try to present legal papers to his new employer, who rejected them.Perhaps this is more of a review of that reviewer than the film, but that review irritated me. I thought it was very unfair, so I wanted to respond.What made MY skin crawl was the hypocrisy of the Christian pastor. He was a real wacko. Still, I enjoyed Ray Wise's performance, as I always do--from the Devil in Reaper to a devilish pastor in Away From Here.Nick Stahl and Alicia Witt were outstanding. I highly recommend the film.

alle-64-554702 The idea and the intend is good; the process of the film is not so convincing. The storyline is consistent but you have the feeling the director was trying too hard. Good as wake-up call, but a bit weak as movie. At least the main character is strong, by the way.The film's message is very good on the other hand: the devilish mechanism of the society and the law is painted good, the bigot position of the preacher should get everyone thinking. And the case is chosen well: not everything is black and white, there is much grey between. A society getting adult should come to accept that and grow there.

MartinHafer I am in a bit of a quandary with "Away From Here". When it comes to the technical merits of the film, it is well acted and very well made. But, on the other hand, I felt a bit angry as well as disturbed by what appears to be a plot that excuses sex offenses—at least one particular kind. Why would anyone want to make a film like this? And, who is the intended audience?!James (Nick Stahl) has just gotten out of prison. Slowly through the course of the film you learn why. When James was a youth minister at his church, he began a sexual relationship with a 15 year-old girl—and the girl ended up being the head preacher's daughter! However, James tells no one about this once he's released—including his boss and his new girlfriend. At the same time, he has kept the love letters the 15 wrote him six years ago—all of which go to show you that he isn't taking his recovery very seriously. However, the film clearly seems to indicate that the punishment he received for his behaviors was, at least in part, unjust. What's going to happen when this old sexual conquest (she's now married and 21) comes to see him? And, what is going to happen when his new girlfriend finds out he's a registered sex offender?As I said above, I just don't understand the point of this film. Is it trying to mitigate James' crime? Is the film trying to get you to like him? Is the film, in some convoluted way, trying to blame the girl's father for the sexual relationship? All the answers appeared to be yes to me—and that is what I found so irritating about the movie. To give you some background about myself, I used to be a trained psychotherapist who worked with, among others, quite a few convicted sex offenders as well as victims. The film's contention that it was a one-time occurrence, that he's cured and that you can somehow justify James' actions all concerned the crap out of me as I sat and watched. What part of 'he was an adult in a position of authority and she was a 15 year-old' am I missing?! And, had James been honest to his employer and girlfriend and tried to learn from his past, I really would have enjoyed the film—it could have been about growth and redemption. But given his secretive behavior and the now 21 year-old telling James it was all HER fault…I just can't recommend this film to anyone. It was well made but also promotes some very unsavory messages and addresses the problem in many of the worst ways. And, as a father of two daughters, the film made my skin crawl. Avoid this one.