Amy Adler Noah (Chris Klein) has returned home from WWII, only to find that his parents are deceased, his younger brother is in prison, and his parents' farmland has gone to another family. Sad. A fisherman, Noah meets a man (Robert Prosky) near a river, who recommends a small town in North Carolina for a new home. Taking this advice, Noah shows up and, indeed, the town is very nice. Initially somewhat skeptical of the stranger, the townfolk soon welcome Noah. This includes an adopted mute boy named Frankie (Zach Mills), who wishes to follow Noah around, at times. Fortunately, a war widow named Eleanor (Gretchen Mol) has an empty cabin on the lands of her property and Noah moves in. Soon, it becomes clear that Eleanor may be over her grief and interested in Noah, ditto for him. Will a new love form? Possibly. Also, some of the town's residents make a bet with Noah about the amount of catfish he might catch and the young veteran takes them on. Then, tragedy strikes and Noah may move out of the area, leaving Eleanor behind. Will it happen? This is a quietly lovely romantic drama with a very beautiful setting in North Carolina. All of the actors, including Klein and Mol, do very fine work. Care has been taken by the film makers to re-create another time, so that costumes, buildings, automobiles and such bring back the late 1940's with appeal. Romance fans will also be pleased. However, if you are not in the mood for some heartache, save this for another time, for some tears may swell and drop for most every viewer.

keatn1 The movie was fun to make! I was Matthew's stand in. I grew up around the area where the lake scenes were filmed, and when Noah gets off the bus in the beginning. It was very exciting to be a part of something like this, and awesome to meet Chris Klein,Zach Mills, and Jay O. Sanders. Everyone treated each other with kindness, even the stars were kind! And I'm definitely proud to say that I got to work closely with them for a month. I enjoy being able to point out Zach Mills whenever he appears on TV and say that I know him. Very Exciting! I wish I could continue doing stand-in work on a perm basis, but its a very tough business to break into. BTW - HEY KERRY!!! How are you and Zach doing???Keaton

vchimpanzee Noah Locke has served in Europe during World War II, earning a Purple Heart. Still, he comes home to find that the farm he lived on belongs to someone else, and his brother Travis is in prison (though he says all he did was drive the car). Travis was told he could go to his mother's funeral but he couldn't do go through with that if he had to be chained, feeling it would bring shame to his family. The brothers have also lost their father.As he explains later, Noah travels from place to place across the South, camping out and fishing in various rivers. While fishing, he meets an old man named Hoke with a special gift, who tells him about this wonderful community in a nearby valley, where there is a legendary fish no one can catch.Noah follows Hoke's advice. Taylor runs the store in the town, and it is there that Noah befriends Matthew, who never speaks. Matthew's mother is deceased and his father may be working somewhere in Tennessee. His grandparents Howard and Ada, who invite Noah to their church, are raising Matthew.Also at Taylor's store, Noah meets Eleanor, who gives Noah some work to do and a place to live. Eleanor's late husband fought in the war, and now she is trying to run a farm on her own while taking care of her elderly grandmother Beatrice, known as Granny.Noah makes a living partly from fishing, and Taylor also gets him to do work at his store Moody and Peavo won't. Moody and Peavo are lazy and just want to talk and otherwise have fun. They are the movie's primary comic relief.Noah has a positive influence on this community, particularly on Matthew and Eleanor. The big question: will he win the big fishing contest, which attracts many outsiders? Will Noah catch that fish no one else can? And will Noah and Eleanor become a couple?There's not really anything here for parents to be concerned about. Noah has memories of the war, but these are not a big problem. The reality of the war has caused some sadness, though. And there is a tragedy by movie's end which could be upsetting to children, though it brings out the best in several of the actors. But strong family values are presented here. Noah always says, "Yes, sir" and "Yes, ma'am", for example. And he believes in hard work, as do most of the people in town. I've mentioned the exceptions.The acting is very good here. Zach Mills is particularly impressive because he can give a great performance without saying a word, and he makes us care about Matthew.It was worthy of the name Hallmark Hall of Fame.

SpudV "The Valley of Light" is a drama with a little bit of romance. I echo the other comments about the refreshing lack of foul language and violence that passes for entertainment nowadays. It's also great to see courtesy, good manners and integrity given prominence.The drama centers on a man (Noah) troubled by his service in the military (post WWII). Without family to fall back on, he goes on his own "odyssey", following whatever river he happens to find himself on and fishing for food. One river takes him to an encounter with an old man who has some encouraging and enlightening words for him, as well as a possible path.In the next town over the ridge, he finds some answers to what he needs in life, befriending a mute boy in need of a father and a widow woman in need of love. When a crisis hits, Noah has to decide whether to cut and run or work with the relationships he has built to that point.Nearly all of us define our lives by the relationships we hold dear, and the movie does an excellent job in showing how Noah developed his relationships with the mute boy, the widow, and the rest of the townspeople. I found myself (a techie guy who works on computers all day) while watching the movie longing to go to that time of no gadgets or TV. Beautifully filmed, good acting and story come together for an enjoyable movie.