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Film Festivals:
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Santa Barbara International Film
Festival - January 2008
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LA International Family Film Festival
- February 2008
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Palm Beach International Film
Festival - April 2008
Production Notes:
 Kansas City was chosen as the
shooting location because everyone at Waldo West Productions lives in the area along
with the director and screenwriter. Director Dennis
Fallon says his film is about a broken family and all
the things they have to put together because of the
death and the things they have to mend. Despite shooting
on a luxurious horse farm and having a
great cast, Fallon is proud
of keeping his budget under three million. "When you see
this film, you are going to be like, how in the world
did you get all this for fewer than three million? It’s
going to look great."
Doug Delaney, who penned the script,
adds, "The real story is about wounded people and
animals. It's very surprising how very indirectly they
can heal each other." Delaney said Kansas City Executive
Producer Charles W. Nelson helped tremendously in making
his screen play a big production. He continues, "This
movie's only being made because of Nelson's love for
animals. This is a film the kids will like, and the
adults will love."
Dove Foundation Review:
This film could be labeled as a sad film if it wasn't for the
illumination that young actress Vivien Cardone brings to her role of
Belle. Belle lost her mother in an automobile accident and it has
affected everyone in her life, including her father and grandfather. Yet
Belle's lively spirit and ability to adapt begins to slowly cause the
others to reflect on their lives. She is a bit rebellious but she
matures as the film moves along. She eventually helps her grandfather,
who rejected her because she reminds him of his dead daughter, to make
some kind of peace with the past. This is a dramtic piece but still, it
manages some humor. A parrot in the story always says "Hello" when
someone says good-bye to it, and "Good-bye" when someone says "Hello."
The film does have some mild language and mature themes and so we
recommend it for ages twelve and above.
The film was previously titled
"Shadows of Atticus".
Reviews:
Sean P. Means, Salt Lake Tribune:
"There's a race in this amateurish family drama to see whose
memory is sullied more: that of Peter Boyle, who filmed his odd little side
role before his death in December 2006, or that of the over-quoted "To Kill
a Mockingbird."... Douglas Delaney's script
overflows with Kansas corn, while director Dennis Fallon's pacing is so
sluggish it often feels as if time were standing still."
Colin Coverat, Minneapolis Star
Tribune:
"Too cloying even for the 'My Little Pony'
set, 'All Roads Lead Home'
yanks at the heartstrings until it rips them right off the ventricle. Filmed
with a generous budget but not much craft, it's a kitschy childhood dream of
horse and doggie love intermingled with soap opera romance and family
conflict among the story's adults. One can't be sure what the filmmakers
intended, but they plainly miss their target."
David Frese, Kansas City Star:
"No one can argue the film’s intention
- to provide a family film with a positive message. But the maudlin
'All Roads' is a little
long and leans a little too heavily on 'To Kill a
Mockingbird,' which everyone in the film seems to
know by heart.Meanwhile, the narrative threads unspool wildly...
It’s not that the film is too complicated, it’s just unwieldy. Kudos,
however, to the filmmakers for giving us a strong young heroine whose
melancholy isn’t easily cured. And it’s good to see KC as the backdrop.
But ultimately, “All Roads Lead Home” is less a dramatic work than a
homily for pet adoption."
Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic:
"Starting with the ominous caveat 'Inspired
by a true story,' there is little indication that
'All Roads Lead Home' is
going anywhere interesting. It opens in bucolic
blandness, with a montage of picturesque pastures and frolicking equines,
then veers quickly into melodrama... This is all
pretty standard Hallmark Channel fare, right down to the gear-grinding plot
devices and stilted dialogue... There is, however,
a subtext of moral searching - focused on the issues of animal rights and
euthanasia - that will elevate the film for some viewers and probably
alienate others."
Jeff Vice, Desert News:
'All Roads Lead Home' is
more hackneyed than it is heartwarming. It's considerably more annoying than
it is enjoyable. The reasons for that assessment
include the overlong movie's series of false endings and its series of
treacly, false-note sentiments. Also, it's a confused muddle, and its
often-confusing, contradictory messages leave you unclear about just what
the filmmakers were trying to say. And despite
having some name actors in its cast, the film is surprisingly amateurish,
especially in terms of technical filmmaking."
Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press:
"'All Roads Lead Home' is earnest, well-meaning and dreadful. The
animal-rights melodrama gets off on the wrong foot by inviting comparison to
a classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird'... The story meanders all over the place,
as if the scenes were randomly edited together."
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