LEAVE NO TRACE With Ben Foster a Father/Daughter Survivalists Film that is Fierce and Poignant

LEAVE NO TRACE is a powerful movie that pits a PTS father Will (Ben Foster) along with his beloved daughter Tom (Thomas McKenzie) against the world.  Will  has honed his daughter to live in the austere wilderness, outside of civilization and its confinements.  This is a brief synopsis of a breathtaking film that is both tender and strenuous to beat.  Nonetheless, it is made credible and even enviable due to the tour de force performances and spellbinding cinematography.  We first come upon a father and daughter in a rural & sylvan surroundings what first appears as a camping expedition.  Soon we discover the 2 are living clandestinely in the woods off the grid of "civilized" society and fending for themselves.  The engrossing drama piques our curiosity as to why they have chosen and how they sustain themselves in such an austere survivalist/naturalistic manner.  Will is resourceful and mentors his daughter with a solemn and loving hand.  Tom in turn trusts her father implicitly and is adroit at fending for herself in "the wild."  "The wild" we soon discover is a public park in OR where their camp has been uncovered.  Will is hunted and apprehended by police & their search hound.  Will doesn't resist arrest and calls out to Tom to co-operate, "We haven't done anything wrong."  It's up to social services to determine whether Will is a fit father and what their fate will be.  The sensitive and compassionate case workers maintain the only unlawful action was residing in a public park.  Will and Tom are reunited and provided a modest home provided Will works for the owner chopping trees (destroying the natural habitat in which they thrived.) The potted tree within the home has withered and died just as Will cannot flourish cooped indoors.  Tom is much more adept at adapting.  She finds comfort in socializing and basic comforts such as warm showers, a warm home and a full fridge.  Will is a complex & astounding individual.   He's relentless & resourceful but incapable of remaining within civilization.   Director Debra Granik (WINTER'S BONES) has made an epic film of profound depth.  The father/daughter relationship survives amidst nature's harsh & breathtaking beauty.  The expansive OR and WA wilderness is a magnificent backdrop to humanities'  suffering and compassion.  One can manage with no phone, no TV,  no religion and still no one can take one's own thoughts away.  LEAVE NO TRACE is etched with dignity and mired in pain.  "How important is it what other's think?"  Both Foster (whose long overlooked for his brilliant acting) and McKenzie deliver Oscar worthy performances.  Leave no doubt, LEAVE NO TRACE is a shattering film; haunting and unforgettable.   Trust is the main theme that glistens throughout; trust in others,  trust in oneself and trust in hope.