The Shepherd Parent Guide

Freddie Hook is resigned to spending the Christmas of 1957 on his Royal Air Force base in West Germany. Then a fellow pilot is injured and Freddie seizes the chance to assume his England-bound flight that night. With a forecast of clear skies until morning, it looks like a quick shot across the North Sea. He’ll be home for breakfast on Christmas morning.

The calm of the silent night is shattered for Freddie when his instruments go haywire. With a broken compass and dead radio, the pilot is lost in the winter skies over the frigid North Sea. As the fog rolls in, Freddie no longer has the ability to navigate his way home – he’s flying blind over a mass of white clouds and his fuel reserves are dropping.

Desperate for aid, Freddie prays for God to send someone to lead him through the fog and safely to the nearest runway. What happens next is the last thing he expects…

Based on Frederick Forsyth’s bestselling novella, The Shepherd is a supernatural Christmas story, a tale of fear, hope, wonder, and gratitude. Director Ian Softley wisely chose to stick to the bones of the story, keeping the movie to 38 minutes instead of bloating it up to fill a more normal runtime. As a result, the story moves along briskly, staying focused on the terror and relief of Freddie’s experience. In this case, less is definitely more.

This film also keeps negative content to a minimum. With minor alcohol consumption and a single minor profanity, this movie is suitable for older school aged kids, especially if they are interested in airplanes. Best of all, the movie won’t bore parents either. In fact, if your parents or grandparents served in the military, this production might just feel like a seasonal tribute to their courage and sacrifice. And that’s something you can’t put under the tree.