This was a fairly accurate depiction of how things were on the frontier.  I presume that the time was about 1880 perhaps earlier.   The Big Sur country had been settled by first the Spanish, then the Mexicans, and later Caucasians.  It was well into the 20th century that access to this area was available, travel on what roads there were was sketchy at best, and most goods of any consequence were landed as depicted by fairly small trading vessels on the beaches at low tide, or in one of the few sheltered coves along the coast..  Much of the tack, the weapons and clothing was not as shown, but these were fairly accurate and often plausible if not possible, the saddles and bridles and bits were quite different.  I have hiked, and ridden over much this area and have met some of the older families..Marriage was as it was shown rather difficult, the gene pool was limited as there were often marriages as close as cousins especially second cousins, many families were of mixed blood as there often were no eligible members of the opposite sex that were separated far enough genetically to choose from, the solution often was for the ethnic groups including indians to intermarry rather closely.  As time went by and there  was better communication with the outside world many men seeking a wife advertised or read advertisements of women seeking a husband . Sometimes a man or woman looking for a mate would choose a partner from another ethnic group, and avoid genetic problems.  Back then people viewed marriage differently, there was a practical sense about the institution, the concept of romantic love while it did exist was overshadowed by the need to find a wife to help with the work, make a home, and to provide children that would not be too closely bred.  I am sure Zandy's marriage while extreme example with Zandy;s and Hannah's differences, were not often so difficult to launch, but that there were lots of differences to be ironed out.  Romantic love existed, but most often occurred after a rather lengthy time of adjustment.  This was a good movie, I enjoyed it a lot, and was pleasantly reminded of the hours I spent in the saddle during my younger days that I spent on horseback exploring the barrancas, hunting or fishing the surf just below the cliffs.  This is a wonderful movie.