Check out our latest feature title review from Library Bound's Susan Wallace!

News of the World is a very entertaining Western with modern sensibilities. Set just after the Civil War, the story initially focuses solely on Jefferson Kidd (Tom Hanks), a former Captain in the Confederate Army. He makes his living travelling around Texas reading the news to paying customer at meeting halls.

During his lonely travels, he comes across an abandoned 10-year-old girl and feels compelled to convey the lost child to her aunt and uncle. However, they live on a homestead hundreds of miles away and it’s a precarious trip. The young girl, Johanna (Helena Zengel), speaks Kiowa, and only has a few remnants of her native German language. At first, she’s extremely reluctant to accompany the Captain, though she really doesn’t have much choice. As the two unlikely traveling companions start out on their long journey, they encounter many obstacles and hazards, but slowly develop a trusting bond.

This movie is a trip through the Wild West that features lots of action, adventure, gorgeous scenery, and an emotional punch. It’s definitely a movie for adults though, and I wouldn’t recommend it for family viewing.

Paulette Jiles wrote the novel of the same name that this movie is based on. She lived in Toronto for 20 years and worked for CBC setting up FM radio stations with Indigenous peoples in the far north, before moving to a ranch in Texas.

To watch a trailer for the movie click here.

- Susan Wallace | Account Representative

Attention Readers (and movie watchers)!