Find Me is an award winning, Indie film, streaming now on Amazon Prime. Tom Huang, writer-director and star realized he wanted to make a movie about our western national parks when he was wading through Narrows Canyon in Zion National Park.

The unlikely hero in this movie is Joe, a Chinese-American middle-aged divorced accountant living a dreary existence of work, home, work. Amelia (staring Sara Amini), his bubbly younger Hispanic coworker and friend, challenges Joe to get out and see the world and shares her many adventures with him. That is, until she disappears.  But she doesn’t disappear until she steals some company funds and makes Joe promise to do anything to “Find her”.  That promise is the premise of the film as Amelia sends hints to Joe of her whereabouts.

Joe’s journey takes him and the viewer through some of the most gorgeous vistas in America’s west including Zion National Park, Death Valley, and Yosemite National Park. An underlying theme in “Find Me” is diversity.  Joe is a Chinese American, a change up from the traditional sexy macho western hero.  His bumbling efforts to understand the bread crumbs Amelia leaves along the way provide moments of quiet humor. Other change ups from traditional white shows, Joe camps with a black woman from Detroit and of course, Amelia is a young Hispanic woman.  Amelia carries a secret with her as she crisscrosses the west.  The ultimate theme of “Find Me” is that we are in charge of our own destinies.  Fate may be an unequal broker but in the end, each of us has the opportunity to live life as we choose.

The scenery alone is worth cuddling on the coach with a loved one and a bowl of popcorn.  I have had the opportunity to travel the places showcased in the film but I am always awed by the beauty around us.

The underlying pathos of “Find Me” is also worth some personal reflection.  Are we living our best lives now?  Does the routine of life dehumanize your spirit and keep you from exploring new vistas.