News of the World

 

News of the World (Amazon Prime)

Let’s get to it. This is a slow movie, 115 minutes slow. For a western most of the plot is pretty  predictable. The heart of the movie is the tender relationship Hanks develops with his co-star, Helena Zengel. Tom plays Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former Confederate soldier and Helena plays Johanna, an orphaned ten year old German girl who was abducted by Indians after they massacred her family. Tom travels from town to town reading the news to rural towns people charging a dime for admission. Besides informing the locals of the news the readings were a welcomed distraction from their hardscrabble life.  The film takes place in post-Civil War Texas. Under Reconstruction confederate soldiers had to show loyalty cards and could not carry firearms. The Texas landscape is bleak and baren, a metaphor for a defeated state and its people.

Captain Kidd finds Johanna abandoned on the road. After her parents were killed by Indians she was raised by the Kiowas and no longer speaks English. The majority of her dialogue is a few native words  and some broken English. Kidd obligates himself to return Johanna to her only relatives, her aunt and uncle.

This is basically a two actor film. There is a smattering of Indians and ex-confederate soldiers, but the main drama is between Captain Kidd and Johanna. Tom Hanks is a versatile actor who has played roles from the beloved Forest Gump to a cast away FedEx executive. Here Hanks is like Mr. Rogers on horseback. He is sincere and caring. Over the course of their journey he develops a fatherly affection for Johanna.

Helena Zengel is a Germain actress (what else) with little screen time in the US. With limited dialogue the majority of her performance is portraying emotions and nonverbal communication which she does  well. She is sad but strong willed. Their relationship is not easy. She is defiant and resists returning to the white world. Her relationship with Captain Kidd is tumultuous but they bond over time.

This movie is like comfort food, welcomed and easy to digest. News of the World is a reprieve from cable news.