Customer Reviews
Another "Groundhog Day" 
2007-08-10
This is a paste from my IMDB review of the VHS tape. I am *so* happy that this is now on DVD. After publication of my review I was contacted by a French fellow who was researching the flight:
Shown on Showtime as "Restless Spirits," this is a fine tale of a pair of aviators flying from France to Newfoundland trying to be the first to cross the Atlantic. They crash in an odd fog and every time that fog reappears they crash again with no memory of the previous crashes.
At the time of the story it is sixty years later and they don't know that Lindbergh won the prize for the first crossing and they don't know they are ghosts.
The protagonist is the 12-year-old Juliana Wimbles playing Katie who finds them and figures out both their problem and the solution while they help her come to terms with her father's death in a test plane crash and with her mother's new romance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and expect to view it over and over just as I see such similar movies as "Groundhog Day," "Somewhere in Time," and "Time at the Top" over and over.
A nice little movie 
2006-09-24
Restless Spirits is a nice Canadian movie, but it did not have an enormous budget or well-known cast (apart from Oscar-nominee Marsha Mason.)
Basically, a girl in 1997 discovers crash-landed French aviators from 1927 on a foggy night, and is the only one who can see them. She helps them recover and repair their airplane so they can continue the quest to be the first men to cross the Atlantic in a plane (their attempt was 2 weeks before Lindbergh's).
The actors playing the historical characters of French aviators Nungesser and Coli were very good and entertaining, and frankly, their interaction was the best part of the movie.
The other plot aspects of the movie (girl not getting along with mother, etc, and rocky friendship with a local boy) were OK. The lead actress, who was quite good as well, seemed a couple years older than her character's 12 years, but that is typical movie casting.
This is like a low-budget Disney movie (but not too sweet), so it is pretty safe for family viewing, though a young girl slips in one "S" word off camera, and a tee-shirt has an "E" logo and the word "Egotesticle" on it - which I found amusing.
My only "problems" were with the reality parts (such as 2 men lifting an engine weighing at least 350 lbs, etc, and some other "convenient" circumstances), but not the fantasy parts.
The movie is an interesting blend of drama, fantasy, and aviation history. Though I'm way past the Disney age group, I enjoyed it for what it was.
The kids loved this. 
2006-09-05
This Showtime movie is available on video and we rented it from Blockbuster. The story is well-written and wraps up nicely at the end...just what the kids are looking for. I was intrigued by the overlap of time periods and weaving the father's interest in aviation and the impact of his death on his daughter. My kids watched it twice and were moved both times.
Nice Family Film 2005-12-14
David Wellington's award winning "Restless Spirits" is a family film much on the order of "The Boy Who Could Fly". The restless spirits belong to an actual pair of 1927 French aviators who aviation historians believe made a successful transatlantic flight two weeks before Charles Lindbergh did in May, 1927. Their names were Charles Nungesser & Francois Coli (humorously played by Lothaire Bluteau & Michel Monty) and the prevailing theory is that they crashed in a isolated area of Newfoundland.
These two ghosts are tangible and approachable, even friendly although Nungesser works hard to give an unpleasant impression. Adults looking for gore, scares, and atmosphere will be disappointed although the film does succeed at developing a decent amount of tension.
Juliana Wimbles does a nice job as Katie, a twelve-year-old who has not yet accepted the death of her test pilot father and whose mother has parked her and her younger brother at their paternal grandmothers while playing around in Europe with a new romantic interest. Marsha Mason plays the grandmother who has had little contact with the two children prior to this visit. She happens to live near a haunted pond and in the tradition of "Sixth Sense" Katie soon discovers that only she and her brother can see the ghosts.
Because of her father's occupation Katie has a natural bond with the two French aviators and figures out why they have not passed on. In 1927 they became lost in the fog and crashed into the pond, on foggy days they must repeat the events that led to their deaths. Katie enlists the help of Andy (Ben Cook), a young neighbor who has a crush on her. They work to restore the wrecked plane so the ghost's can finally escape the pond. Suspense is generated by the interference of Andy's nasty sister, and by the competition of two archaeologists who are trying to unravel the unsolved mystery of the doomed flight.
In the process Katie is able to finally come to terms with the loss of her father. She gains an understanding of death from the disparate reactions of the two aviators to their ghostly situation. Nungesser, the pilot, is upset about losing out on the fame of the first transatlantic crossing and embarrassed at crashing. Coli, the navigator/mechanic is crushed by the realization that he will never see his family again. Katie begins to understand that her father was a mix of these two sets of motivations. Pay attention to Katie's interactions with the two aviators because it is in this substitute father/daughter dynamic that the film transcends the ordinary ghost story.
This is a well scripted and pleasant film with a very original premise that the whole family should enjoy, but don't expect shock and horror.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Touch of Aviation History with Disney Flare 2003-05-16
Aviation Buffs will enjoy this story of 2 aviators trying to make first Transatlantic flight from France to USA. After crash landing in Newfoundland the deceased aviators spirits are seen by a girl with *The Gift* of being able to see them. The girls deceased father, a test pilot, had same insight. When they tell her there story she decides to help them retrieve their crashed plane from lake and help them to assemble plane to so they can continue their journey. Superb storyline that whole family can enjoy. Excellent ending, Don't miss this one. AAAAAAA+++++++
Poignant film for all the family 2001-04-17
This gentle, modern-day fairy tale explores a family trying to recover from a father's death. Katie is a combative 12-year-old; her brother Simon is almost mute; their mother desperately needs time to rebuild her life. She takes the kids to visit their dad's mother in Newfoundland where Grandmother Lydia (played with grounded depth by Marsha Mason) tells Katie she understands that she has "to stay angry or you'll forget him." Lydia says that "some people have the gift of seeing," and Katie and Simon prove her right when they meet Charles Nungesser and François Coli, historical French aviation heroes who disappeared trying to beat Lindbergh across the Atlantic in 1927. These lost souls repeat their fateful crash into the swamp every time the fog comes in. Katie realizes they must finish the flight to enable their escape to heaven and begins the improbable task of raising their plane from the deep. The antagonistic relationship of the aristocratic and pompous Nungesser and his kindly navigator is portrayed with picaresque charm by the charismatic Lothaire Bluteau and the humanistic Michel Monty. Nungesser bemoans being beaten by a "mailman," while Coli mourns the loss of his wife and child. Resurrecting
L'Oiseau Blanc helps Katie interact positively with people and develop friendships. By the magical climax, she learns what inspired her father to be a test pilot.
--Lloyd Chesley
Beguiling Little Film 2001-03-26
I was very pleasantly surprised by this film.I was expecting the usual insulting kiddie fair but instead got a well-made, subtle and heart-felt ghost story.The cast in this is very good,with the excellant Marsha Mason turning in another fine performance,and the actors playing the spectral pilots are witty and convincing.Also Juliana Wimbles is a real find.The beautiful young actress finds the fiesty spirit and wounded heart of the girl who discovers the spirits of two missing pilots,and the relationship she develops with them,and how they eventually help each other find what they have always been searching for is surprisingly moving,but not in a bombastic way.This is a very small film,and could easily fall through the cracks,but give it a chance.I think this,along with "Fly Away Home" is a rare example of films that are ideal for kids,but can also be enjoyed by intelligent adults.
Charming Movie 2000-10-07
Marsha Mason (Goodbye Girl) plays the grandmother with an earthy, wise charm.
1927 Single engine biplane took off from France attempting to make first non-stop flight from Paris to New York.
Sex and death, two of the hardest topics to discuss with your children. This movie would open a discussion on either. Not that there is Any sex but there is a sweet puppy love attraction by preteens.
It is a very logical and well presented ghost story (not too scary). They (the dead pilots) can touch items from their time and ours such as the ground and trees. Fairly good special effects, what is better than fog for a ghost story? The young girl is smart and courageous, excellent female leed but not feminist. An inspired, uplifting ending which helps her deal with the untimely death of her father is wonderful and fulfilling.
