‘Lost on a Mountain in Maine’ Review: A True-Life Survival Story

In the tradition of “Death of a Salesman,” “The Assassination of Trotsky” and “Penn and Teller Get Killed,” “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” arrives with an on-the-nose title that serves as fair warning: Few surprises await you here. On the other hand, there’s never any doubt that things will work out OK for Donn Fender (Luke David Blumm), the 12-year-old  protagonist. Indeed, during the opening minutes of this family-friendly true-life drama, the beans aren’t merely spilled, they are tossed while director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger and scripter Luke Paradise (working from a same-titled memoir co-written by the real Donn Fender) give a pinky-swear promise that a happy ending looms large on the horizon.

But maybe that’s not such a bad thing: If you’re watching “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” with impressionable children, you won’t have to worry about their ever getting too terrified if they closely identify with Donn as he struggles to survive for nine days alone in the freezing wilderness of Northern Maine without food, water and suitable gear. Unless, of course, they occasionally get so caught up with the story that they forget they’ve already been told how it ends.

As for adult viewers, they may be engrossed during the sporadic stretches of middling suspense, and impressed by the striking cinematography of Idan Menin, which greatly enhances the movie’s overall impact. It helps a lot that major characters are well-cast across the board, and helps even more that young Blumm is especially adept at developing a rooting interest in his character.

That’s no small feat, considering how sulky and borderline-bratty Donn comes across in early scenes. It’s 1939 in Newport, Maine, and Donald Fendler (Paul Sparks), his demanding father, feels little or no reason to be soft on his son, or any of his other children, as the Great Depression proceeds apace. “Everything’s going to hell,” he tells his…