Five minutes in I thought 'I'm going to hate this movie'. It seemed like it was just going to be a documentary of cutesy moments of kids at camp. But a bunch of good reviews led me to it, and by halfway in I understood why.
As these kids (and their counselors) come into focus as human beings it actually becomes a moving memory of childhood – it's joys, but also it's confusions, pains, hurts and loses. That doesn't mean it's a down-beat movie. Ultimately it's vibe is positive, but it's not a Pollyanna kind of positive view of childhood. It gets just how life is bittersweet, even (or especially?) when you're 10 years old.
As these kids (and their counselors) come into focus as human beings it actually becomes a moving memory of childhood – it's joys, but also it's confusions, pains, hurts and loses. That doesn't mean it's a down-beat movie. Ultimately it's vibe is positive, but it's not a Pollyanna kind of positive view of childhood. It gets just how life is bittersweet, even (or especially?) when you're 10 years old.