Walking Across Egypt

Customer Reviews:

Walking Across Egypt.......2007-03-12

I was really looking forward to watching this movie after reading the book. The book is absolutely wonderful. The movie came across to me as slow and not near as entertaining as the book at all. I would reccommend it if you haven't read the book, but if you have, you may be disappointed witht the quality of the movie.

Best Movie Ever.......2007-03-09

I saw this movie on a cable network one day and fell in love with it. I ordered it and have just about worn it out watching it myself and showing to all my friends. Never before have I watched a movie that will make me laugh one minute and cry the next. Why in the world this movie wasn't released to the big screen remains a mystery to me. I would like to see a Part 2 of Walking Across Egypt.

WALKING ACROSS EGYPT GREAT FAMILY FILM.......2006-07-27

I had not planned to watch this movie (never heard of it, I guess it went directly to video) but a co-worker just kept INSISTING. To shut her up, I took it home from the library expecting to do a lot of fast-forwarding. Surprise! It is a wonderful .. WONDERFUL movie. I can't say enough good things about it. A total delight. Great acting. Great story. Great moral. I ended up buying a copy for myself and have watched it several times.

A Wonderful Movie to Watch Again and Again!.......2006-04-27

This movie is a gem and definitely warrants a place in the family video collection. [June 12, 2007 edit: in addition to this review, the comments associated with same may help you to decide whether you agree].

The movie opens by trailing a little stray dog as it winds its way through visually stunning southern (United States) geography, eventually along a waterway up onto the porch of Mattie Rigsbee, an elderly widow, expertly played by Ellen Burstyn, where the dog's unexpected arrival sets off a cascade of events where the journey is at least as rewarding as the destination.

The story moves steadily and effectively through a continuous stream of interpersonal exchanges and juxtapositions that serves to create ongoing alternating tension and release. Mattie attends church and hears a sermon on "the least of these, thy brethren," and is moved to act upon her faith with childlike simplicity and sincerity by bringing cake and iced tea to juvenile delinquent Wesley Benfield, the dog catcher's nephew; this stands in contrast to the hypocrisy of the preacher who delivered the sermon, which becomes exposed by the end of the movie. Mattie's advanced age stands in sharp contrast to Wesley Benfield's youth. Yet, for all their differences, they are well matched. Mattie tells Wesley he ought to have his mouth washed out for using a bad word; yet, she does not flinch at all when he mentions his first "roll in the hay."

Mattie takes life as it comes and handles every situation with aplomb, yet, Mattie's basic competence and resilience are not at all recognized or appreciated by her own middle-aged daughter who wants to move Mattie to a retirement center. In contrast, Mattie's elderly neighbor accurately observes (to Mattie's son) that Mattie is happy and can take care of herself as she has been doing for some time.

Mattie's reference to a gun Wesley has brought into her home as a "tool of the devil," smacks of an underlying gun-control agenda and does not ring true with the southern culture or values I have seen firsthand for most of my life. The movie -- which contains scant objectionable language, the fleeting reference to premarital sex (mentioned above), and some mild violence -- shatters more stereotypes than it reinforces, by far.

In the end, Mattie realizes with joy that her belief in there being "some good in that boy" is well placed. She dons the lavender suit she had set aside for her burial and excitedly sets out to rescue the stray dog and the boy, both in the "nick of time."

I am so impressed with this movie that I plan to read the book!

Ellen Burstyn shines in a top-notch cast.......2006-02-11

Although it's nice to see young hunk Jonathan Taylor Thomas in a bathtub scene, Ellen Burstyn is the heartbeat that drives this great little film. It never got released to theaters, just direct to Blockbuster and beyond. That's a shame because director Arthur Allan Seidelman captured some great shots of Florida that deserve to be stretched across a large cinematic canvas. Wonderful ensemble cast, I especially loved Gwen Verdon, but then I always did. For once, the film is every bit as good as the novel.

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Life in the rural South with religious overtones.

Walking Across Egypt

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Customer Reviews:

Life in the rural South with religious overtones........2005-01-18

Quite unexpectedly, I was invited to watch this movie by two acquaintances who had read Clyde Edgerton's book which inspired this adaptation. They knew what to expect. I did not. At first, I found it difficult to watch the scenes of the youth in detention, and thought the old lady was silly.

This film was produced by an Independent studio with a far-out name to be viewed only in the U.S. and Canada; maybe other countries would not understand the coloquial dialogue. Based in North Carolina, the accents were a little affected, but here in East Tennessee I am learning they speak their own type. You have to hear it to believe it. It's almost like a foreign language.

The subject matter is as old as life itself. Title of her favorite hymn and a saying she has when a stray dog enters her limited existence and she has no time to care for it. Early on, a humorous occurrence changes her life when she gets stuck in her rocking chair while watching her favorite soap operas on television. Thank goodness, she has called the animal control and the dogcatcher enters her house after he hears her calls for help when he comes to take the dog. Mattie, played by Ellen Burstyn, is lonely because her children check on her intermittenly at their convenience, but she does have nosey neighbors who have to know every little thing going on.

She's rescued by Lamar who has to break the chair to get her out as she is so tightly wedged in; in the process, his wallet slips out and, when he calls about it, she insists he come to get it at meal time. He offers to repair the chair and she (nosey little thing) reads a letter which is sticking out of the wallet he left on the table. He has a nephew in a lot of trouble.

Sixteen-yr-od Wesley, played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, is an orphan whose life is threatened in a pre-pen environment, a place she has no idea of the reality as she unknowingly "adopts" him as the grandson she's yearned for -- someone who needs her. He was convinced she just had to be his grandmother, since he had no knowledge of his mother or family except for uncle Lamar.

Her middle-aged, pompous son was too heavy for the ladder which comes apart in the middle and is left hanging from the gutter. He discovers Wesley there doing chores and foolishly insists on doing the work himself. The daughter wants to transplant her to a retirement home to be near people her own age.

Her involvement in helping this young boy revives a life gone to seed. Wesley couldn't get enough bubble baths, but was afraid of water when she took him fishing at the spot where her father had taken her in times past. It was freakish how he learned to swim. He is a product of his environment, and this film shows the harsh reality of life as it still is in certain situations.

The ending is touching as she revives her strength and has a reason to live. She's like a new person with a pride not just in her 'good cooking' skills but with a purpose, a destiny to help another human being she considers as 'the least of us' as interpreted by her Baptist preacher. He needed to practice what he preaches, as does his interfering wife who looks like Namuni Young, who want to ostracize Mattie -- who shows them a thing or two.

There were 'laugh-out-loud' parts of this movie, and some which may make you want to cry. If you are feeling low or things just aren't working out, this book will revive your faith in humankind.

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Walking Across Egypt
Starring: Ellen Burstyn , Forrest , Jonathan Taylor Thomas , Pat Corley , and Mark Hamill
Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman
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