wildsparrow16 The actors in this movie shine, so I gave it a few stars. However, the child abduction premise has been done and this did not put a particularly new spin on it - other than the fact that she comes back (which happens in the first five minutes).I did like the realistically portrayed family, however. It is refreshing to see a movie where people don't "move on" from a tragedy. The fact is, if what didn't kill us made us stronger, people wouldn't commit suicide or become addicts. Sometimes things can weaken us irreparably. Fortunately, for this family, that did not happen to Noah, who is stellar in his role as he holds the family together. I would like to see him in more movies.Overall, this movie left me feeling sad, despite a glimpse of sunshine at the end. I do not like feeling this way after a movie. I kind of wish I could unwatch it. If you have an emotionally thick skin, you might like it more than I did.

Marley Rae I do not write reviews, but I signed up because there is something special about this film. It's got an indie grittiness that you love in movies like Winter's Bone, but with a light, love and beauty (cinematography is amazing) that you would see in a Terrence Malick film. The story is full of nuance and things you "get" without being told, almost philosophical at times. I read a reviewer called it "Hauntingly poetic", which is a perfect term for it. But like most good movies, you either really love it or you really don't. I loved it. The cast is subtle and raw, the music is captivating, the story is complex and subtle (pay attention to the details, some I only picked up on 2nd watch)... and the cinematography is beautiful. The film won a lot of awards on the film festival circuit and for good reason. Bottom line: The movie made me feel different than most.P.S. There is an important scene in the middle of the end credits, so stick around!

R C Ten years ago, little Lauren Daly (Anne Winters; Wicked City) was abducted while on a family trip to the beach. Devastated, the remaining family members spend the next ten years battling against alcoholism, depression, and suicide. Sand Castles depicts a tragic story of a lost childhood and the lives affected by that loss.Ten years on and Lauren's brother, Noah Daly (Jordon Hodges), is taking care of his now alcoholic mother with help from his uncle Tommy (Randy Spence). Quick flashbacks reveal why Noah's father is no longer in the picture; an event that also took its toll on their family. The household is squeaking out a type of existence although it is clear that Lauren's disappearance hit them hard. But then they get a visit from the detective who has been on the case since he was a rookie. He informs them that they have found Lauren alive and it throws their new world for a loop.Now a teenager and unwilling and/or unable to speak, Lauren tries to reintegrate into her broken family with the detective and a case worker looking over their shoulders. The case worker does her best to help Lauren, including taking her to a play based on a worn out book she carries around. But the presence of alcohol does not help. Lauren's mysterious return also re-energizes the investigation into her disappearance. Clint Howard co-stars as an eye witness who believes he saw Lauren getting dropped off where she was found; an account that leads Tommy down a dark, potentially heart breaking path.The use of flashbacks is nearly perfect in this film. They tended to be short little clips introducing characters or circumstances just when that information is most useful. For example, when the detective is introduced, they have a quick flashback to him as a rookie getting the call of a missing person (Lauren). It's not too drawn out, gets the exposition out of the way, and keeps the story flowing at a decent pace.Overall, Sand Castles is an interesting, emotional roller coaster. The characters are (mostly) likable and the actors are very respectable in their parts. The plot is depressingly believable and shows that your world can change in an instant both for the worse and for the better. I would have preferred a bit more closure regarding Lauren's kidnapping, but stick around during the credits for a bonus scene that does wrap up a few last threads of that mystery.Bradley Smith, Red Carpet Crash

Frosty_Critic A child appears, mute and traumatized, rushing through the woods, a fugitive from ten years of captivity at the hands of a pedophile.Flashbacks to a good family time at the beach, building a sand castle crowned by a chess queen.A momentary glance away that will yield a decade's worth of pain.The loss of the child (at whose despicable hands?) has wreaked its havoc on those left behind ~ the despondent alcoholic mother, Marie (Saxon Trainor); older brother Noah (Jordon Hodges), a lumber mill worker; Uncle Tommy (Randy Spence), seething with anger and an irresistible itch for revenge. Each bears their cross; all wrestle with their demons.An excerpt from Proverbs 23:18 has affirmed that "Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off."Sand Castles, written and produced by Mr. Hodges and directed by Clenét Verdi-Rose, gives promise to the proverb as it painstakingly and dramatically tracks the Daly Family's journey to hope and Lauren's to recovery.There's a solemnity and tautness to the film's pacing, an air of danger that presides in the background music by Todd Maki and in the moods of its male characters, and a promise of possibility and justice (what you might think of as great expectations).It is, however, the stunning performance of Anne Winters that makes this such a haunting and powerful film. Hers is a remarkably expressive countenance; her expressions, worth a thousand words; her eyes, a road-map to Lauren's fears and reflections. In a uniquely understated performance, Ms. Winters delivers a singularly powerful and heart-wrenching performance.In the real world, the road to recovery is not a straight line. It is filled with pitfalls and detours. Sand Castles does not spare us reminders of this reality (for example, Lauren's removal by Children's Protective Services from the Daly home to foster care) and the falls from propriety of even the noblest characters (Lauren's social worker's ill-advised affair with Noah).In the real world, as Noah notes, everyone has choices ~ some to be celebrated and some from which there is no return.In the wake of headlines that have screamed the tragedies of lost children and their enslavement by madmen ~ the worst nightmare of any parent ~ Sand Castles is an especially relevant and timely contribution. At the center of this tale of tragedy and hope, of desperation and redemption, is a message about the mindfulness that is essential to the caring of our children, the patience that is required when we must relieve them of their pain, and the hollowness of revenge. At the end of this tale is an abiding sense of reverence.Herbert Paine, BroadwayWorld.com