Are tourists destroying the planet-or saving it? How do travelers change the remote places they visit, and how are they changed? From the Bolivian jungle to the party beaches of Thailand, and from the deserts of Timbuktu, Mali to the breathtaking beauty of Bhutan, GRINGO TRAILS traces stories over 30 years to show the dramatic long-term impact of tourism on cultures, economies, and the environment.
John Figg has a great career and a gorgeous fiancée. When he inherits a nice house in a quiet neighborhood, he finally starts to feel like his life is coming together. Trouble arises, however, when John's house is burglarized, and the thieves steal one of his most prized possessions.
A series of snapshots from the life of a fictional actress named Shirley serves to weave together thirteen paintings by Edward Hopper (e.g. "Office at Night", "Western Motel", "Usherette", "A Woman in the Sun") into a fascinating synthesis of painting and film, personal and political history. Each station in Shirley’s professional and private life from the 1930s to 1960s is precisely dated: It is always August 28/29 of the year in question, as the locations vary from Paris to New York to Cape Cod.
An intense look at the lives of the strong-willed daughters of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional mother who raised them.
With the threat of having to close her father's candy store, Wendy and her six-year-old daughter Grace travel to the big city in hopes of making extra holiday cash to save the store. When she's offered a job in the toy department of Wolmans, the city's biggest department store, Wendy can't wait! Her excitement doesn't last long when the store's manager, Teanna, destroys the Christmas spirit throughout the store and replaces Santa with a hunky male underwear model surrounded by elfin "babes." What Teanna is unaware of is that she has in fact sacked the real Santa. Unaware of his real "Santa" status, Wendy reaches out to the old man but it seems even he has given up hope. With her daughter losing faith in the holiday, Wendy realizes she must bring the true meaning of Christmas back to Wolmans before it is too late.
Accompanied only by her faithful dog and four camels, an Australian satisfies her craving for solitude by embarking on a solo trip across the desert from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean.
America is in the midst of the Great Depression, and the Kamp family is struggling to get by, especially since Mrs. Kamp’s untimely death nearly a year ago. The older children do their best to take care of the family, but it’s the younger children—Hopalong Cassidy fan Norman and straight-talking little Ruthie—who struggle most. Now, with their mother gone and their father overwhelmed by doctor bills from young Norman’s battle with polio, the Kamp siblings fully expect a Christmas without presents. But when William scrapes together a dollar in coins to use for Christmas gifts, everything begins to change.
Charlotte Hart, a distinguished journalist, is spending time with her family over the holidays when a real estate developer approaches their small town with quite an offer. Skeptical and looking for the real scoop, Charlotte drives to see the real estate head honcho to question him. While she's en route, she gets into a terrible car accident and wakes up in the hospital only to realize that her body is in a coma, but her spirit is very much awake. She meets another spirit, who just happens to be the greedy developer. It turns out that he was on the other end of the accident and he too is in a coma. With only a few days left before the town votes on the development, Charlotte must try to change the minds of the developer and the town, but that is no easy task when no one can see or hear her. Will her voice be heard?
Duncan Mayor decides the perfect Christmas present for his terminally ill wife, Suzy, is a ride on a real Ferris wheel, set up in their very own back yard. As a young man, it was the perfect place for a wedding proposal. Now, years later, in order to relive the experience with his wife, Duncan will go to any length to make their fantasy become a reality.
Every individual confronts fundamental questions about the nature of reality, self-identity, and elusive happiness, yet few make these their life goal. An international group of students have traveled to a monastery in a remote area of southern India with the single purpose of discovering these answers. GURUKULAM is a journey into their lives, a wisdom tradition, and the contemplative space in which it is carried.
A resort executive is sent to a newly purchased lodge in Maine with instructions to turn it in to an ultra-modern resort, and finds a charming, successful lodge loaded with holiday spirit. Will she stick with her boss’s plans to tear everything down or find a way to save what she has come to love? Stars Candace Cameron-Bure and Alan Thicke.
Mysterious emotional thriller about a woman who, after being left at the altar, has a brief liaison with a handsome stranger on a plane which ultimately puts her – and everyone else on the flight – in terrible danger.
1921 New York. An immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island.
While coming to terms with his dad's recent passing in a tractor accident, 13-year-old George McCray is living with his grandparents on their Kansas farm. George misses his mom, Jill, who has moved to Minnesota to deal with her grief, but there is the promise of their reunion at Christmas. George feels needed on the farm as he helps his grateful grandfather Bo with daily chores and comforts his grandmother Cora. He has also made friends with Mary Ann and became attached to Tucker, the smart and friendly dog the McCrays take in when his troubled owner Frank Thorne lands in jail.
Lena flees to her rural hometown after her 13-year-old daughter's overdose attracts the attention of child services. She reunites with her estranged mother, and is forced to face a past she has tried to ignore.
Shop owner Alice Chapman is nervous to meet her future in-laws at Christmas, especially because she is arriving ahead of her new fiance Will Mitchum. Alice's trip becomes more stressful when her luggage is lost and her phone is damaged, leaving her no way to find Will's family!
Seth, 18, and his sister, 6, are orphaned. The girl of his dreams is stolen away. Holding onto faith and his dream, Seth lives frugally and wisely. In the end, he gives the ultimate sacrifice to obtain the prize.