As We Bloom: Trust Fund Movie Review

I am always happy to find good movies that we can watch as a family, so when I was given the opportunity to review a DVD of Trust Fund from Mapelle Films, I set a movie night date with my husband so we could preview it and decide if we would watch it with the kids or just the teenager.

What is Trust Fund about?

This movie has a "prodigal daughter" sort of story line. But it also gets into a touch of "Lot's wife" type of story. A woman (Reese) is unhappy with her life, discovers an inheritance her late mother intended for her (but her father has not told her about), and decides to steal it and leave the country to lead the life she wishes for. Later on, she realizes she has misjudged who to trust, life isn't what she expected, and she decides to go back home. Though she is trying to move forward and "not look back", the past does catch up with her.

Reese has a sister she is close with, but also very different from. It's interesting to see the interaction and differences between them, and they truly are sisters! Sometimes I wanted to step into the TV and tell them to stop acting like they were 5.

The film is rated PG, received the Dove seal for ages 12+, and for younger children when watched together as a family. A trailer is available to preview at the Trust Fund website.

There is also a book available, Love Was Near, which is intended for girls ages 12+ to read after watching the movie. It talks more about the behind the scenes reasoning and thoughts Reese had. It sounds like an inspirational book to help teens and young adults find trustworthy guides in life. Some reviewers received this book so please check out the other Crew members' reviews if you are interested.

You can find a Study Guide on the website as well. This may help you learn a little more about the movie before you view it, but it can also help encourage discussion in a small group after watching.

Who produced the film?

Isaac Alongi, who is the producer, was homeschooled as a child. He began making elaborate video creations at age 11, and has worked his way up through photography and film making to sharing his independent movie with the public. The film opened in Kansas City theaters in July 2016 and is available for purchase tomorrow on DVD or streaming.

Mr. Alongi's wife, Sandra, wrote the screenplay for the film and directed it. The husband and wife team are partners at their photography and film business.

I was impressed with the quality of the film and the filming. It looked great on my big HDTV. But more than that, the filming was top notch. The angles, lighting, sets, etc. looked like they were well done. I am in no way an expert on this, but I can tell when a film looks low budget and lacking in experience and technical details. This movie does not, I feel like it is well made.

How did we like the movie?

I would say there are three types of movies we watch. Learning, inspirational, and time fillers. I expected this movie to be inspirational. I think I have that sort of expectation because of other movies of similar type that we have viewed - if a gospel topic is presented or played upon (as in this case of the Prodigal Son story), I expect a strong gospel principle to be learned (a strong moral to be taught).

However, after watching this film I feel it was more of a time filler type of movie. While there are morals to the story, they are not the strong gospel principles I am used to from this type of film, or that I expected. The first "prodigal" portion of the story was done okay, and kept my husband and I somewhat interested in the movie. But after that it seemed like the story lined turned to two other stories and they were not nearly as interesting to follow.

It also wasn't realistic in some ways. One, for instance, the amount of money the main character basically steals. The viewer is made to feel bad if they think the main character should be punished, because the sister feels there should be punishment, but she's made to look bad for her view. In real life there would be huge consequences for the way that money was stolen. I say that not because of "an eye for an eye" OR "turn the other cheek." I believe in and try to live Christ's law, which also includes, "We believe... in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." There were a few other things (the sister's childish behavior in a workplace) that stood out to us, but I don't want to spoil too much of the story.

We did not end up watching this as a family, or even with our teenager. The lifestyle (running away and living with a boyfriend, immodest clothing, entitled adults, to name just a few) and experiences presented are not something that should be in a family movie, especially as this movie is described. So we felt it gave very conflicting ideas, and because of all I've described, the values intended to be taught felt lacking and weak. I am sure that there are families or areas that this movie would be better received by and even inspirational, but I don't think we are the right fit as the target audience.