In the tradition of “Death of a Salesman,” “The Assassination of Trotsky,” and “Penn and Teller Are Murdered,” “Lost on a mountain in Maine” arrives with a straightforward title that serves as a fair warning: Few surprises await you here. On the other hand, there’s never any doubt that things will turn out well for Donn Fender (Luke David Blumm), the 12-year-old protagonist. In fact, during the first few minutes of this real-life family drama, the beans are not only spilled, but thrown as the director Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger and screenwriter Luke Paradise (working from a memoir of the same title co-written by the real Donn Fender) make a promise that a happy ending looms on the horizon.

But maybe that’s not such a bad thing: If you’re watching “Lost on a Maine Mountain” with impressionable kids, you won’t have to worry about them becoming too terrified if they identify closely with Donn as he fights to survive. for nine days alone in the frigid wilderness of northern Maine, without food, water or proper equipment. Unless, of course, they occasionally get so caught up in the story that they forget they’ve already been told how it ends.

As for adult viewers, they may become engrossed during the sporadic stretches of lackluster suspense and impressed by Idan Menin’s stunning cinematography, which greatly enhances the film’s overall impact. It helps a lot that the main characters are well-cast across the board, and it helps even more that the young Blumm is especially adept at developing a deep-rooted interest in his character.

That’s no small feat, considering how moody and almost spoiled Donn comes across in the early scenes. It’s 1939 in Newport, Maine, and Donald Fendler (Paul Sparks), his demanding father, feels little to no reason to go easy on his son, or any of his other children, as the Great Depression rapidly advances. “Everything is going to hell,” he tells his understanding wife, Ruth (Caitlin FitzGerald). “The world is not going to give him a break. “I shouldn’t do it either.”

It’s no surprise that Donn doesn’t respond warmly to his father’s tough, loving approach to parenting. And he gets very angry when Donald, whose job keeps him away from home and his family for extended periods, announces that he’ll have to cancel his plans for a two-week fishing trip because… well, work calls and he can’t. risk displeasing him. your boss while there is a Depression.

From the beginning, it seems that Donald rarely (if ever) feels obligated to make amends when he needs to disappoint one of his children. This time, however, he offers to take Donn and his two brothers on a short hiking trip to nearby Mount Katahdin, Maine’s tallest mountain, as an apology before he leaves.

This is a big mistake.

Donn is so sullen in his resentment that, when a rapidly advancing storm arrives as he, his brothers, his father, and a family friend trudge upward, the young man braves the obvious dangers and continues on. He quickly becomes separated from the group and is forced to wander through “100,000 acres of wilderness” that is even less forgiving than his father.

As Donn makes his way through the treacherous territory, his family members and volunteer search parties hope for the best but expect the worst, as the boy endures physical and psychological hardships that could make a Green Beret shudder. (It’s tempting to assume that Sylvester Stallone signed on as one of the film’s producers primarily because the premise reminded him of Rambo’s walks in the wild.)

The film is filled with recent interviews with some of the people who were involved in this misadventure, including Donn’s twin brother, who admits that, after nine days, “we were looking for a body.” And at the end, there is an effective compilation of archival material that illustrates how that misadventure ended and how the reconciliations were affected.

But perhaps the most memorable thing about “Lost on a Maine Mountain” is the way it poses a provocative question: Would Donn have managed to survive his time in the wilderness if his father hadn’t been so tough? From the beginning, Donald warns his son that “sometimes you have no choice but to end your fight.” Could it be that Donn took his father’s words to heart more fervently than either of them suspected?