Vigil

Vincent Ward directed and co-wrote this stately coming-of-age film that features a subtly nuanced performance from twelve-year-old Fiona Kay. Toss (Kay) is a sweet girl on the verge of adolescence, who lives on a sheep farm with her father in the rolling hills of New Zealand. When her father dies in a tragic accident, Toss' mother Elizabeth (Penelope Stewart) puts the farm up for sale. But her grandfather (Bill Kerr) wants to keep the farm in business and enlists the hunter Ethan (Frank Whitten) to help get the farm back into functioning shape. At first Ethan and Elizabeth react to each other's presence with restrained hostility, but their nearness to each other eventually erupts into a passionate love affair. Through all of this, Toss tries to deal with the up-front passions of the two adults as she also adjusts to her coming womanhood. - Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide