Actors say, “Don’t share the stage with kids or dogs.” In “All Roads Lead Home,” there are kids and dogs, but the actors don’t have to worry. Everyone gets equal time. Here is a family-oriented film that stays well within the PG rating perimeter. Filming was done in the greater Kansas City area, though with horses and open fields, the countryside resembles Virginia. There are three stories going on here. One is the relationship between a grieving young girl and her father and grandfather, another is the budding romance between the father and a lady animal doctor, and the third is the treatment of animals, as in when is the time to put an animal down.
 
Belle (Vivien Cardone) lost her mother in a car accident. She and her father, Cody (Jason London) are left to heal themselves and they are not doing well at it. Cody is an animal control officer who is in contact with lady vet, Lillian (Vanessa Branch). They like each other, but are shy to show it. When Belle keeps getting into trouble in the city, Dad takes her to spend time on Grandpa Hock’s ranch. Hock is a gruff Peter Coyote who wouldn’t know how to express an emotion if it were in neon lights in front of him. At the ranch, Belle has to learn to get up early to do her chores, but before long, she takes to the outdoor life with the help of hired hands and the horse trainer,英语影评 Basham (a quietly effective Evan Parke.) There are animal pets everywhere in this film from puppies to a talking parrot to horses. Belle persists in naming everything, which Hock doesn’t want her to do since that would imply an emotional connection, something he isn’t comfortable with. Of course, there is a time when Belle runs away, and of course, an animal gets ill, and of course Grandpa starts to mellow and you can see the path in front of you, but it’s fun getting there.
 
“All Roads Lead Home” is well acted. Peter Coyote has stern eyes and a stern back, but he looks as though he is ready to mellow. Jason London stands out as the father who doesn’t know how to connect with his daughter. Vanessa Branch wants to help animals and people, but she doesn’t know how to reach out, either. It’s up to Belle to find her way out of emotional turmoil from the death of her mother. As she does, the other members of this extended family fall into place with their particular turmoil, too. The center, here, is actually Evan Parke as Basham, who startles people by quietly appearing, but really notices everything and has secrets of his own. His thoughtful eyes speak volumes.
 
What is brought to the forefront is the fact that many animal shelters have to put down animals to make room for more strays. The “No Kill Policy” is what animal shelters should be, according to the script, and a unique solution is found when the local shelter in the film houses surplus animals at a rundown motel, managed by the late Peter Boyle in his last film. The seriousness of an animal getting ill is intensified when the lady vet can’t find out what is wrong. These are animals from around the city, so what is the problem?
 
I had to chuckle at a road side sign displayed in the film, “Eat Beef---The West Was Not Won On Salad.”  This film has many things on its plate and manages to bring attention to them with meaning, from human and animal illness to a young girl’s maturing to a father’s trying to cope to a grandfather’s trying to understand. It’s at the table of life and we all have to sit there.