Homeschool Happenings: Mapelle Films

My daughters and I watched Trust Fund produced by Mapelle Films and absolutely loved the movie. After the movie my daughters took turns reading Love Was Near a book that is a bit of a look behind the story of Trust Fund.

Trust Fund is a story of a young, aspiring writer Reece. Much like the prodigal son in the Bible, Reece could be said to be the prodigal daughter. A bit unmotivated with regards to her writing and uninterested in working she is faced with the ultimate struggle. Her father has decided to cut off her money supply and tells Reece that it is time to get a job. Reece's mother has died and Reece finds out that her mother has left 10 million dollars in a trust fund for Reece and her sister Audrey. She feels betrayed by her father that he didn't tell them about the money. Reece decides to secretly transfer her portion of the money to her account and run off to Italy. When things do not go as planned Reece has decisions to make. I would love to tell you the rest but than I would be ruining the movie.

I watched Trust Fund with four of my daughters and a friend. My daughters are 9, 11, 14, and 17. I didn't expect my 9 year old to be too interested but she surprised me and she ended up watching the whole movie. Throughout the movie we found ourselves emotionally attached to the characters. Much like watching sports where individuals scream at the players we found ourselves trying to reason with Reece. The movie was captivating, inspiring, heartbreaking, and joyful all at the same time. After watching the movie we all talked for a good bit of time about the movie. The movie was really, really good.

"To all the young women that don't know their worth,

and haven't been told they are irreplaceable."

~dedication at the beginning of the book Love Was Near~

The movie Trust Fund has many topics that would be great for discussion such as:

Entitlement
Selfishness
Jealousy
Sexual Promiscuity
Family Dysfunction
Poor Choices
Natural Consequences
Laziness
Forgiveness
Deception

Even though some of my children were younger than the suggested age of 12 I think that watching the movie together and talking through the events of the movie was a great way to open up dialogue about REAL LIFE challenges. My children are quite familiar with the story of the prodigal son from the Bible and this movie is in many regards similar. Reading what scripture says about the prodigal son is a great carry over to talking about the movie. My children saw that choices that they make in life affect not only themselves but also so many others. When Reece chose to take the trust fund money and what ended up happening it was a great example of how sometimes we may not understand reasons behind why things are done but ultimately they are done for our good.

After the movie I showed my daughters the book, Love Was Near. It was a bit of a fight as to who got to read the book first. This book is a pretty quick read and most of my daughters as well as myself were able to read through the book in about an hour. The book is divided into three parts with a brief "Before The Story" introduction.

In the preface readers are told that the book offers a deeper look into what's behind the story and what Reece is thinking. As Reece tries to move forward to her future she takes one look back realizing she has plenty to learn about life, love, and trusting others.

Throughout the book readers will read Reece's Dear Diary entries. After each diary entry readers will get a chance to complete "What do you think?" sections. For example after Reece's first diary entry where she talks about her writing, her parent's starting their own publishing company, Audrey's thoughts on Reece's writings, and the struggles she continues to face readers are asked to answer the following questions.

Are you the youngest, the oldest, or somewhere in between? How different are you from your brothers/sisters?
Do you think it affects your relationships with your brothers or sisters?
How does it affect your relationship with others?

Each chapter begins with the storyline followed by the Dear Diary entry and ends with the questions for readers.

If you go to the Mapelle Films website there are links to a study guide as well as movie clips. The study guide is a great option for a small group setting. The study guide is divided into four parts, each with a corresponding scene from the movie, scriptures, and questions.

I would definitely recommend this movie and book to others.

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