Saving Sarah Cain

Saving Sarah Cain is a Made for TV Movie based on the novel The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis, directed by Michael Landon, Jr.

Cynical newspaper columnist in Portland, Oregon Sarah Cain discovers to her shock that her sister, an Amish convert, has died and appointed her guardian of five Amish children. She takes them back to the city and attempts to raise them. After much trouble she returns them to their small hamlet and leaves. The children run after her and beg her not to. As the movie closes it is implied that Sarah will move to their village thus being "saved" from her cynicism.

This is a rather predictable plot but it is a light and heartwarming movie.

Tropes used in Saving Sarah Cain include:

• Amish
• An Aesop: Cynicism is bad.
• Apron Matron: One of Lyddie's career goals.
• Arcadia
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Actually Lyddie looks quite pretty and presumably her boyfriend thinks so. Yes, Amish girls have boyfriends. They actually do take into account this aspect of life and have some curious customs about it.
  • Well honestly, nineteenth-century dresses and bonnets do actually make a girl quite attractive to my mind. Amish girls are just plain cute.
• The Conscience: Lyddie
• Culture Clash: Between Amish and "Englishchers" or non-Amish.
• Determined Homesteader: The Amish Village.
• Don't Split Us Up
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: When Lyddie finds that the other children have been doing sinful things like wearing non-Amish clothes and being on the wrestling team.
  • And also they were showing that they are ashamed of their kinfolk by doing so. That was what Lyddie was irritated at.
• Flyover Country: Lancaster County Pennsylvania--Amish country.
• God Save Us From the Queen: Aunt Sarah; their mother must have been crazy to name her as guardian.
• Good Feels Good
• Good Old Ways: Well yeah, they're Amish.
• Good Is Old-Fashioned: Oh, yeah.
• Heel Face Turn: When Aunt Sarah learns to be nicer.
• Hidden Depths: The Amish boy Caleb proves to be a very good wrestler. Apparently pushing a plow is good exercise.
• Human Interest Story: Sarah tries to make the children this without their permission.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sarah.
• Lifetime Movie of the Week: The film premiered on the channel.
• Man Behind the Man: Lyddie, the big sis behind the aunt. Aunt Sarah is selfish and too incompetent to raise five children from a strange culture. Lyddie is neither selfish nor incompetent and finds Sarah rather annoying.
• Massive-Numbered Siblings: All five Amish.
• My Girl Back Home: Lyddie is shown writing to her boyfriend Levi who is still back in Pennsylvania.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: The Government points out that Lyddie was underage for guardianship by a year even though she is most certainly qualified. In this case it is no one's fault; the law simply can't cover every circumstance.
  • Given that this law is normally rational but didn't fit to this case, perhaps it is better described as Belegured Bureaucrat.
• Peer Pressure Makes You Evil: Public school in Portland slightly corrupts the Amish children; at least enough to shock Lyddie, though rather venial corruptions by Englishcher standards to say the least.
• Preacher Man: The Amish bishop.
• Promotion to Parent: Lyddie the big sis. She isn't exactly promoted to parent because Sarah is supposedly the guardian but it is obvious she wants to be, ought to be, and would do a far better job.
• Saintly Church
• Schoolmarm: Another of Lyddie's career goals.
• Sibling Team: The Amish children.
• Subculture: Amish
• Team Mom: Lyddie
• The Spartan Way: Being Amish resembles a more peaceful version of this.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Lyddie.
• What You Are in the Dark: This is the first time the children had been outside their community.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Lyddie, but just slightly and not enough not to be unrealistic.

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You know, perhaps they should have renamed this movie Lyddie...