This movie has taken a lot of heat for historical inaccuracies and unrealistic circumstances (among other things). Still, it offers a good moral theme and does tell a compelling story without ruining the aforementioned with some sort of predictable, clichéd ending. It's worth a watch if you're the more patient type of viewer who enjoys an intellectual movie experience. Sit back and employ your "film reading" skills with this one. There's lots of symbolism. Though it does fall short on the type of action sequences that less sophisticated, mainstream audiences require these days, it does not disappoint with tension.

I like to attend to details and in here we have many unexplained details.The cold weather and the womens attire beg for an explanation.Her various abilities to make a fire when there was no sun light.The 3 dead people who were dressed better than she was for the cold.The lack of a food source. and sometimes water.It is doubtful she lived through this experience.The child spoke a foreign tongue and she a teacher failed to communicate with him.These type movies always fix the language problem up front.They trade names and get basic words down pat.The child was dressed for cold weather better than she was.If a spirit why was he dressed so well.I loved this movie but there are too many leaps of fate to tolerate.It took on the idea of a fairy tale.I am looking toward the idea that it could have been better in its basic engineering.The main actress was excellent and all the other failures were overwhelmed by her superb acting ability.

Comments by a 12 year old: 1. Why isn't she taking the dead man's hat to cover her head since it is snowing? 2 . She didn't have a jacket in her covered wagon? 3. Why wouldn't she just put everything into the big cloth and carry it instead of carrying a heavy box? 4. It never looked like a trail..what kind of trail would be in the middle of a forest? And did that big pot really fit into the stupid wooden box? And on and on. Sure it was a fantasy but a very annoying one. To be a worthwhile fantasy there needs to be some semblance of practicality. Perhaps a warning would have bee appropriate here...something like adults beware, only very young girls who like dreamlike movies will enjoy.

This is the dullest movie I've ever seen. I kept waiting for some action, some plot, something to keep my interest. What a complete waste of time. The 5 minutes with the stupid music thinking someone was out in the woods and...thennnn.. it was a raccoon???? Really? Worst movie I've ever seen... The fact that this woman can't even light a fire, can't feed herself.,How in heaven's name was she supposed to move out west. You know they had to at least know that in those times unless you were wealthy with servants. So unrealistic. They keep wanting me to write more... I don't have anything else to say about this movie. I want to save anyone from wasting their time on this. Can this be enough text..?