Homeschool Review Crew - Love Was Near and Trust Fund from Mapelle Films

Time to pop some popcorn and sit down for a good movie with my daughter and add some reading time to the summer agenda. In case you can't tell, I was thrilled to get a chance to review  Trust Fund from Mapelle Films and the follow-up book, Love Was Near. Mapelle Films has also put together a study guide that you can download and use with a group. It is 12 pages, with video clips and gets right to the point of the movie, complete with scripture references.


 

What is Trust Fund the movie and Love Was Near the book?

The cinematographer/producer was homeschooled beginning in 1982 and is a success story of what happens when you allow your children to learn and explore their talents. Read more about his story in this article on Midwest Parent Educators.

I received a DVD of the movie Trust Fund and a paperback book based on the film. The book is best when read after viewing the movie, and there is a reason for that which you will learn as you watch the DVD.

The movie is best described as a modern day prodigal son story only the son, in this case, is a daughter. The young girl in the story discovers her late mother left her and her sister $10 Million but her dad, who owns a large profitable company, has not ever mentioned that she has this inheritance. Meanwhile, she hacks into the company's bank account using her sister Audrey's computer and transfers her half of the inheritance to her bank account and travels to Italy where she had met an Italian man on a previous trip and develops a relationship with him. When he seemed to develop financial trouble, she offers her money to him. This is where the movie begins to take a surprising twist.

The book is directed towards girls ages 12+. The movie received the Dove seal for ages 12+ and could also be appropriate for younger children when you watch it together as a family to open up discussion topics.  Love Was Near was written with young adult girls in mind and is intended to be read after watching the movie. The book digs deeper into the lessons and issues expressed in the movie to serve as a study guide that provides behind-the-story insights into how the main character was thinking and why she did the things she did in the movie. It helps the teen to apply the movie to real life. There is also a downloadable study guide available at the Mapelle Film's website that is perfect to use with a group. It is presented in four parts with 12 pages of full-color summaries of the characters, video clips, discussion questions and scripture references.

How Did We Use It?

I sat down with my daughters to watch the movie. I also handed my oldest daughter the book asking her to read it for my review. I was asked to wait till after watching the movie to read the book. When I opened the pages of the book, I was pleasantly surprised that it was written in a study guide format to delve deeper with insights and questions about the main character and how to apply the movie to your own life.

What Did We Think?

I think the creator of the movie and the book has created a fascinating method of bringing home the point of a modern-day parable through the use of media and entertainment. The movie is well done and the book well written, but most importantly relays an important message of love and trust that is apparent in the movie, but then reiterated through the study guide book. The actors in the movie were very well cast and each believable in their individual role. What stood out to me the most was probably the realization that this story may touch some young girl out there enough to realize she is headed toward a bad decision or even empower her enough to get out of a bad relationship and get help before it's too late and to recognize what true love really is.

FIND TRUST FUND MOVIE AND LOVE WAS NEAR BOOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA @:

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Read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below: