I really didn't know what to expect from thsi movie. I thought it might be an attempt to update 'Man Without a Face' for the 21st century. It is not. This movie doesn't star any actors that I have ever heard of and I had not heard of the movie itself before a friend recommended it. I was worried that it may be one of those cheaply made, poorly acted vanity productions that some wannabe film maker with an overblown opinion of himself had cobbled together with no budget, an awful script and using their extended family as a cast. I have encountered quite a few movies like that. I am happy to say that this is not one of them.
This is a well acted, intelligently scripted, thought provoking and sometimes moving film. I must admit, I am not entirely sure what message is we, the viewers, are meant to take away from this, but the fact that I'm still thinking on it the next day says a lot about this movie's impact. I really enjoyed it and am happy to recommend it. There are no car chases, no gratuitous violence, no robots, no explosions and no sex, so if those are your hallmarks of a good movie this isn't the one for you. If you're into sensitive, intelligent film making though, you will enjoy this.
My only minor gripe with this movie is that it perpetuates the odd practice of many American movies in having young characters played by actors who are obviously older than the characters are said to be. The three boys at the heart of this movie are supposed to be 12 years of age. The three actors very obviously are not. Why not make the characters 14 or 15 years old? It wouldn't have diminished the movie one iota. Odd, but not enough to spoil a hidden gem of a movie.
This is a well acted, intelligently scripted, thought provoking and sometimes moving film. I must admit, I am not entirely sure what message is we, the viewers, are meant to take away from this, but the fact that I'm still thinking on it the next day says a lot about this movie's impact. I really enjoyed it and am happy to recommend it. There are no car chases, no gratuitous violence, no robots, no explosions and no sex, so if those are your hallmarks of a good movie this isn't the one for you. If you're into sensitive, intelligent film making though, you will enjoy this.
My only minor gripe with this movie is that it perpetuates the odd practice of many American movies in having young characters played by actors who are obviously older than the characters are said to be. The three boys at the heart of this movie are supposed to be 12 years of age. The three actors very obviously are not. Why not make the characters 14 or 15 years old? It wouldn't have diminished the movie one iota. Odd, but not enough to spoil a hidden gem of a movie.