In our home, Sunday nights are all about spending time together watching a movie. Today I’d like to share our review of one that we watched recently; Trust Fund by Mapelle Films. It’s a good film and one that leaves you with a few things to think about and discuss with your children.
Trust Fund was written and produced by Isaac Alongi, who you might be interested to know is a homeschool graduate himself. This alone is a great lesson for children; follow your dreams and you can achieve them. If you want to know more about Isaac, the Midwest Parent Educators have an interview with him here.
Phil and I watched this movie ourselves first during our Saturday date night, and then shared it with our children the next week for our family movie night. There isn’t any ‘language’ in the film, nor are there any ‘unsavoury’ scenes, which is great as it’s difficult to find films like that.
Trust Fund is a full-length movie with great casting, particularly the roles of Jessica Rothe as “Reese” and Louise Dylan as “Audrey.” The characters, as well as the story are believable, although certainly not many families would act the same in the situation portrayed; but that, of course, is what makes this movie worth discussing.
Trust Fund’s Plot
Reese is from a family of means (though her parents worked very hard to achieve that) and family values are important to them. Reese is now at an age where she is transitioning from student life to adult life in the real world but isn’t yet ready to spread her wings without a security net below her. She is scared of working hard to be successful, perhaps because she’s scared of failure and disappointing her loving father and her driven older sister.
After being confronted by her father after she returns from a memorable summer trip to Italy, she is feeling wounded and makes a few bad decisions that lead to scary consequences for her. I don’t want to give everything away, but let’s just say she flees the coop, there is theft, smuggling, spies, and links to the underworld involved. And let’s not forget about love, too.
The main theme of this movie is familial relationships and how they act upon our lives, even without us consciously knowing it. Relationships and trust between father and daughter, between sisters (I loved the scene where Reese and Audrey, now two grown women are arguing in the corporate office like young children!) between friends, between husband and wife, and girlfriend and boyfriend.
Reese sets a series of events in motion that could be disasterous, and almost come to pass. She’s broken the trust she previously had with her family and doesn’t know if it can be repaired. In many families, it probably wouldn’t be. But her family has a lot of unconditional love for her, that in the sibling rivalry way is seen as unfair, of course.
Questions
Does Reese’s family forgive her? Does she find true love? Does she finish the book she’s been working on? There are many questions that you’ll have to watch the movie to find out! But to give you a feel for it, you can watch the movie trailer here.
In essence, this is a modern day story of the Prodigal Daughter. And this movie can lead to family discussions about morals. One thing that I am trying to instil in my children is for them to be true to themselves. To do what they know is right, even when it is difficult and ‘boring’ as they will be the ones who will suffer the consequences and internal demons if they do not.
We talked about truth, honesty, and respect and why they were so important in everyday life. My children are just 7 and 9, so the concepts of following love isn’t there for them yet, but the they can certainly relate to sibling rivalry and telling the truth.
Additional Resources
If you have a daughter that is 12 or older, there is a book that can be read following the movie, Love Was Near, to give more food for thought. As well, if you are using this movie in a small group, you may find this study guide helpful.
Conclusion
The whole family enjoyed this movie just as it is, as well as with the discussions it can lead to. It’s a feel-good movie and shows there are ways to get what we want from life…provided we take the steps honestly. Not everything may turn out the way we had expected, but perhaps may even turn out better.
We will be keeping this movie and watching it again as the children grow when we think they need a gentle reminder to be true to themselves or to forgive others, or just to watch again for an evening of enjoyment.
To read more reviews about Mapelle Films by the Homeschool Review Crew, click on the graphic below and follow the instructions. You will find 100 honest reviews by the Crew. If you’d like to know more or would like to follow Mapelle Films, you can connect with them through their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
