Lost on a Mountain in Maine

Rated PG • Theaters

Almost every parent of young children has had the sinking feeling that comes with losing track of a child. Usually the child is found within minutes, but imagine if the separation turned from minutes to hours, then days.

Lost on a Mountain in Maine is based on real events from 1939. Donald Fendler is hiking with his twin 12-year-old sons, Donn and Ryan, and their little brother Tommy, along with a friend who has made the tricky ascent before. As the weather worsens, young Donn is determined to get to the top. But after a childish argument between the twin brothers, Donn runs off on his own. As darkness falls, the storm sweeps over the mountain, and soon the young man is miles from his father and brothers.

By the next morning, Mr. Fendler is wild with worry. Rangers and volunteers begin a massive search, first of the mountain, and soon of the lonely wilderness ­surrounding it. After a few days, searchers begin to fear they will find not a boy, but a body.

Young Donn remembers advice from his dad should he ever get lost: Stay calm and “Keep your head,” follow a stream or river until you get to civilization, and above all, when things get tough, press on. Unlike wilderness survival shows of today, Donn has nothing with him except his clothes, and he soon loses half of those to misadventure. But press on he does. Will he have enough fortitude and grit to find his way to civilization?

Director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger weaves interviews with the actual Fendler family into the narrative, along with archival footage of the hundreds of volunteers who joined the search.

While most of the movie has viewers fully immersed in the tale of perseverance and hope, I question the decision to include the story of a mythical Indian eagle god, who makes an appearance in Donn’s delirious decline. Even so, Lost on a Mountain in Maine is a well-told story that will have you telling yourself on your next hike: Press on!