The Fathers is a 2012 Lovian drama film produced by Transbaum Films and Heritage Studios. It tells the story of the Founding Fathers, the men who discovered Lovia back in the 19th century. It is directed by Arthur Jefferson, who directed a movie with a similar story, The Lovely.
Plot[]
Arthur Noble (Jhon Lewis) is a young Belgian man who moved to San Francisco in the United States of America. Ever since his move, he lost all contact with his family back in Belgium and misses them dearly. After getting a job as a journalist, he met Stephen Robinson (Brian Simons), an African-American born in Louisiana.
Later, while looking through some newspapers, he reads an old article about how an unnamed island archipelago in the middle Pacific. He becomes intrested in finding it so he finds an investor and charters a ship; the Francis II. Then, he and Stephen Robinson meet eight other people, who are later called the Founding Fathers. They also meet Abigail Johnson (Stephanie Herrenhausen), a young woman, whose parents recently died. They persuade her to join them. She becomes the ninth Founding Father.
Later, they set sail for the archipelago. Arthur seems to be enjoying the wind, until a man sees a huge bank of dark clouds. The storm looms at them and the sea is calm, until a gust of wind blows a wave onto the ship. The storm rages and causes major damage to the ship. The masts are almost struck by lightning, the deck is flooded by large waves and the Founding Fathers almost get killed in the process. Later, the storm clears away and dissipates. Stephen Robinson proposes to go to the island, because its fairly close. Arthur, tearfully, runs away into his room below the deck. Abigail follows him and asks him what is the matter. Arthur tearfully replies that the islands don't exist and he misses his family. Abigail then comforts him and convinces him to continue the journey, not back to San Francisco.
That same night, the ship crashes into a pile of rocks. Stephen suddenly wakes up, realizes the danger and screams to warn Arthur. The water rushes into the ships hull and floods it. The Founding Fathers drop anchors and try to jump off the collapsing ship. They jump into the sea and try to get inland. The ship then splits in half and falls into the sea. The Fathers then get out and climb up the rock pile. Arthur leads, then gasps at what he sees. Peace Island. A huge forest with mountains behind it. They look around, then Arthur replies in amazement, "This is what we've been looking for."
They cut down timber and use it to make a fire. Next morning, Arthur wakes up and proposes to build a colony. They all agree and cut down timber to make houses. Once the colony is done, Arthur proposes to name it "Noble City". Stephen, however, disagrees. This sparks an argument between the two, which later progresses into a fistfight. Abigail calms the two down and tells them that they can name the colony after both eachother. The story then switches to twenty years later when Robinson dies, and Arthur names everything after himself. The film ends in the present day at Nobel University where a group of students writes down everything that happened in the movie.
Production[]
The film was largely made in studio, excluding the scene where they cross the Pacific Ocean. During the production, a real thunderstorm damaged many sets.
Reception[]
Receiving a 85% good review on the movie cricicism website, RottenTomatoes.com, The Fathers positioned third on the 2012 box office.