September Dawn (2006)

Director:

Christopher Cain

Writers:

Christopher Cain (written by) and
Carole Whang Schutter (written by)

Release Date:

24 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Plot:

A love story set during a tense encounter between a wagon train of settlers and a renegade Mormon group.

Plot Keywords:

Castration | Execution | Utah Territory | Mormonism | Mormon

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Terence Stamp	...	Brigham Young
Trent Ford	...	Jonathan Samuelson
Krisinda Cain	...	Young Woman
Shaun Johnston	...	Captain Fancher
Franklin E. Levinson	...	Captain Baker
Jon Gries	...	John D. Lee
Lolita Davidovich	...	Nancy Dunlap
Jon Voight	...	Jacob Samuelson
Taylor Handley	...	Micah Samuelson
Daniel Libman	...	Reverend Grant Hudson
Tamara Hope	...	Emily Hudson
Barbara Gates Wilson	...	Martha Hudson
Huntley Ritter	...	Robert Humphries
Dean Cain	...	Joseph Smith
Ron Webber	...	Hyrum Smith

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | USA:R | Australia:MA (2008)

Filming Locations:

Augustina Farms, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

September Dawn

Trivia:

John D Lee had 19 wives and 67 children. At least eleven of his wives eventually left him.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Emily Hudson is a main character in this film. In reality, the Hudsons left the wagon train before it reached Utah.

Soundtrack:

Love Will Still Be There

A harsh film, looking at desperate situations and the human spirit

A harsh film, looking at desperate situations and the human spirit As this is shot in full colour, we see the big open spaces of Utah in shades of ochre, giving a suitable depressive feeling to this harsh film.

It deals in truths without pulling any punches, placing you in plights real people have and still do face. The style of the film and brilliance of the acting puts you with the characters so totally you can taste the pain and feel the despair.

It's so evident, immediately that there are no options but to just let fate take it's course, how cruel life can be.

And what effect can this have on a human heart, can the harshness of life crush it, turn it sour.

Can a man's spirit, honour become infected, can the whole world just be going bad and so a man has no choice but too succumb, this is how Jon Voit's character Jacob justifies the crooked, uncaring path he has chosen to take, but through the brilliance of Newman's acting we see subtle clues to his inner turmoil and guilt.

All the characters are all brilliantly portrayed and it's interesting to see how Jacob's nephew, father and maid products of the same harsh land, are effected by and deal with it's punishing nature.