Jacquot de Nantes

With time I came to appreciate the French cinema. This is true especially when it comes into producing rite of passage films as the French directors seem to follow an unique methodology and let the story develop and flow as the life of the characters on screen . The result is more often than not well told stories – and the one in Jacquot de Nantes was not an exception. I was lucky enough to see this film in one of the local cinemas today -and as one Bank and the French cultural institute were sponsoring the projection I got to see it for free.

The flick feels melancholic and sentimental – like a biographical film – but the more correct term for it would be a film portrait as focuses on the adolescence years of the french new new cinematographer Jacques Demy – while the film itself is like his memorial directed by his life Agnes Varda. She described her film as ” “a voyage into childhood, into all childhoods … ” and produced a film which fans of the coming of age genre as well as those who have an interest into the cinema are unlikely to miss out .

The film felt a bit confusing at times as Agnes Varda used a mixture of black and white scenes – which were supposedly transition from the past to present . The movie also mixed short extract from the films of Jacques Demy , completed with voice overs and a documentary like interview with him contribute to the unique cinematography of the film. At times it even felt like a musical – as everyone seem to be singing – in times or war or peace , having a dinner by the table or repairing a car. Most of the songs would be familar to you – as they seem to be classic French chansons – I myself was able to recognize of them which also is included into the soundtrack of another excellent french movie ” Toto the Hero “.

Jacquot de Nantes is a movie about a boy who finds an inspiration in his life – the cinema and decides to devote his life to art. He is a boy with rich imagination which is being greatly influenced by the puppet shows he attended as a kid. His childhood story is portrayed well on screen – as Philippe Maron who played the the role of the young Jacquot did an excellent job – looking adorable and passionate just as his characters must have been. One thing that I noticed when the prerolled credits rolled was the Jacquot was played at different ages by three actors – all of which did a great job – only I was most impressed by the acting of Philippe Maron – which is I am spotting his name in the review. For the boy was not easy to follow his passion towards the cinema as his father who works as mechanic thinks that his son would be better of doing some manual labor . But Jacquot doesn`t give up and dreams of the day in which he would be send to an art school in Paris .

I have read some reviews of the film on its IMDB page – and it seems that some people think that one would be better of if he knows something about Jacques Demy and his work in order to be able to enjoy the movie. I was not familiar with his work – but enjoyed it greatly nevertheless . That is why I would like to recommend it – as I am sure you won`t be dissapointed when seeing it.

httpv://youtu.be/LvASXM6lr-k

Straalen McCallum

New : An exclusive interview with Straalen McCallum for TheSkyKid.com

Hello there fellow readers, let me introduce myself. My name is Tony. I am a fellow blogger and acquaintance of SkyKid, and he has been so kind as to include me in the great privilige of being on and posting in his blog. I hope that what I write can be something all of you can enjoy, and I am open to whatever comments you have!

Straalen McCallum, a 10 year old Australian boy and rather unkown singer in some cases, has a voice that to me is nothing short of grand. Starting out when he was just about 5 years old and singing “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” around the house, his parents urged him to carry on and develop his musical talent. Citing David Clayton Thomas as his “hero”, he continued to sing in school and at the request of his teachers at school assemblies.

Loving to sing anything, but especially “anything like cool jazz and soul,” he followed through with the admonition of his supportive parents and took lessons from a woman he calls “the world’s best singer,” Venetta Fields.

He sees himself as the next Robbie Williams, and his advice to all those who aspire to become singing superstars is to “know exactly what it is you really want and do everything you can to make it happen.”

For a fuller interview, please visit my music blog at http://www.asightuntomysoul.blogspot.com/

I am very impressed with this wonderful young man, and see a bright future for him. What are your thoughts?

You can find him and another video entitled “Beyond the Sea” on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/goldstray1

An updated article is available : The Next Megastar: Straalen McCallum

Cutting Edge – Boys Alone (2002)

Yesterday while I was wondering what film shall I watch, I stumbled upon a documentary in my collection for a while – yet I have not seen it. The name of that documentary is ” Cutting edge – Boys Alone ” – and it is based on a social experiment which consisted of letting nine boys aged 10 and 11 spend 5 days alone in a house – with no rules or adult supervision. It is not hard to see where the producers got the idea – William Golding`s novel: ” Lord of the flies,” and the so popular reality show nowadays are the two things that come to mind.

The documentary’s production quality is average as the crew was visible at times, and the editing could have been done a bit better. However, I envision that the movie would be of interest to people interested in the social sphere of psychology – even if it only confirms the well-known saying, ” Boys will be boys.” It is rather interesting observing the youngster’s different personalities and how they influence their behaviour and attitude towards the other participants in the experiment. I myself immediately started wondering with whom I could associate best – and in my case, I think that George will be most similar to me as he was rather introverted – but not completely.

In the end – as one could probably expect, the boys split into groups, and almost all equipment and toys in the house were broken. To summarize, ” Cutting edge – Boys alone ” is a good documentary – but I doubt that anyone could learn a new and surprising thing from it about human nature. Watching the film based on Golding`s novel would probably be a more enjoyable and useful experience for you.

If you manage to see the documentary – don`t hesitate to leave me a comment with your own impressions of it.

Varde (2008)

Lately, I have noticed a trend of excellent short films produced in Norway and/or other Scandinavian countries. I already wrote for two of them – “ Iver ” and ” Benny`s Gym,” and now you are going to have another title to look for – the Norwegian film ” Varde.” A short description of the film would be ” What friendship is and what it isn`t. ” The film shares a similar mood with “Benny`s gym ” due to the moral dilemmas which the main protagonists had to face. For its 16 minutes, Varde is guaranteed to keep you glued to the screen, which only indicates what an excellent job did its director – Hanne Larsen.

Varde can be classified as both a dark film on adolescence and a twisted coming of age flick, which ensures that most of you will be moved by it. The film won the first award at the 2008 Palm Springs International Festival in the Best Live Action Short Over 15 Minutes category.

More information about the film is found on its official page on the Norwegian Film Institute website.

Lost Boys: A Novel by Orson Scott Card

The following review is based on the audio version of the novel Lost Boys. I assume that it follows the novel`s plot – which is why it can be considered a review of the book itself.

Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card was a very intriguing novel. When I first picked it up – I expected that the author would tell some coming of age tale – probably because of the book’s title. However, this turned out not to be the case, as I found out in the first hour of listening to the audio recording. By then, I was sucked by the story and the characters in it – so the fact that it was not what I expected did not really matter.

Somehow it felt like the whole novel is preparing us for its ending – which by all means is one of the most intriguing endings of a story I have read or heard of. In fact, I was so moved by it – that I could not stop thinking of what actually happened – and how the author skillfully leads the readers of his novel to different conclusions, yet developing the story in such a way that one is to remain surprised, amazed and overflown with emotions at the end.

Most of the story in the book focuses on a Mormon family dealing with real life. Step Flether, his pregnant wife DeAnne, and their three children move to Steuben, North Carolina. There Step gets a job as a ” manual writer ” in a software company while DeAnne looks after the kids. Their oldest child- the 8-year old Stevie, is having troubles at school, which far exceeded the usual “new kid” syndrome. Affected by that and maybe something else, Stevie starts imagining fictitious playmates to spend his free time with. His parents worry a lot about those unreal friends of Stevie and attempt to help and understand him.

I honestly think that writing more about this book will not be beneficial to my review – as if you can read / or listen to Lost Boys like I was doing it ( without having really an idea what it is about ) – you would definitely experience the book and the story in it just as the author intended. In the meantime, you would also learn many things about parenting, religion, and humans’ nature – things that would make you think more than once. The excellent character development throughout the story is another plus making this book a good read.

I strongly recommend it.

Lost Boys: A Novel by Orson Scott Card Audio Review

Le grand chemin

An adventures of an 9 years old boy from Paris in a remote French village. The way he reacted to the things he saw in the village in a way reminded me of the Spanish movie Secretos del Corazon .Only instead of a brother – he is initiated into the secrets of life by a slightly older girl who lives in the village . Little Louis is quite sensitive lad : “He is cute , but as nervous as a girl “ – yet by the end of his vacation he had learned a lot – both of himself and of his surroundings . The role of Louis is performed by Antoine Hubert who later became a famous actor in the French cinema and is a must known for anyone found of the coming of age genre.

The film could not be described as intense , even trough there was a scene that made my heard beating quite fast . With that small expectation you get a bitter sweet coming of age stories – like reading a memories of someone or picking back into your own childhood. The mood in the film is rather melancholic. That`s one of the things I like about COA films – one can always look back and see things in a different perspective he saw them once influenced by the story on screen .

The casting of “La Gran chemin” was brilliant and I enjoyed the performance of all actors. The two children in the lead roles – Antoine Hubert (the director’s own son) and his accomplice while Vanessa Guedj while both novice in the cinema at the time contributed did an amazing job . The dialogues between them are full of humor and while the sublime music made the film even more poignant. Those of you found of French films may be familiar with the old classic “Jeux interdits” – and if not I recommend that you check this film too.

The french cinematography style shines in its true uniqueness and you won`t miss it if you have seen other titles such as Small Change, Murmur of the Heart and Au Revoir Les Enfants. In 1991 the film was remade in the US as “Paradise” starring Elijah Wood . While I have not seen ” Paradise ” yet people who saw both claimed that the remake felt corny and unreal .

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This review would have not be possible without the valuable support of CVMC . I would like to thank them for supporting theSkyKid.com by providing the DVD of ” Motorama ” . Check out the film`s page at the CVMC.net

Motorama

Sometimes you see the cover of a film – and more or less make your mind of what it is going to be like. I did the same for the US production Motorama – and oh boy was I wrong .

The film began with some spooky scenes , which confused me even more . There were hints of a dysfunctional family ( parents arguing ) while their son is working on something in their garage. He turns out to be the young protagonist of the film- the 10 years old Gus .When that becomes clear a bit later I was once again surprised as he ( Jordan Christopher Michael) was much younger than I expected . From now on I am rather confused of how the film can be classified – coming of age drama, a comedy or a road movie …there is a bit of everything . I end up enjoying the film – but am not really able to define a well written reasoning for that.

Gus steals a Mustang , takes some money and hits the road . He drives the car, listens to loud rock music – stops at a Gas station where he finds out about the game ” Motorama” – which involves collecting of all letters in the game`s name trough special cards which are distributed by “participating gas stations “. And here it came – another surprise – not only I thought that the actors is older before I see the film , but the other characters in the film saw him as such – and he acted older as well which added another layer of strangeness to the film. But while mos people seem oblivious to his age , there is someone – who could recognize Gus`s age and get him in trouble – the sheriff !

“Being underage is such a terrible crime isn`t it? ” asks the boy when he almost gets caught in the first Gas station. For a 10 y.o he sure uses a lot of course words – in a way he could be easily described as the nightmare or every parent – stealing car, mocking people for money , getting into gambling – to the point in which at one times he states : “I play Motorama and right now my whole life is devoted to that game”. Yet he seems to be learning a lot during his trip – and experience during it – which most of the times are quite unpleasant for him – as he loses one of his eyes in one scene and is tattooed against his will in another. Yet the ending of the film – would definitely surprise you once again – with the morals it brigs – even if they could be a bit doubtful .

The film is full with US symbols – Mustang , Jeans and …several others which are commonly associated with the US – such as KKK , but I am feeling uneasy discussing any of them in my blog. In other words – Motorama is not a children`s movie as it features many disturbing scenes and foul language . The cast if packed with well known actors such as Susan Tyrrell,Jack Nance,Garrett Morris,Michael J. Pollard and Drew Barrymore . However none of them delivered a notable performance – including Jordan Christopher Michael who was on screen most of the time. He is excused however as the film`s plot required him to think and act as an adult – which could be quite a challenging task …

My guess is that Motorama would appeal to people who like surreal scenes set in an alternate-universe. They would have a lot of opportunities to interpret and analyse the scenes directed by Barry Shils. I found the film interesting and enjoyable enough – yet I tend to prefer more realistic tales as I have mentioned several times in the blog.

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This review would have not be possible without the valuable support of CVMC . I would like to thank them for supporting theSkyKid.com by providing the DVD of ” Motorama ” . Check out the film`s page at the CVMC.net

The Way I Spent the End of the World

There is something in common in movies coming from East Europe – especially of the ones who focus on the period before 1989. I have seen my fair share of them and probably that is why the Romanian film The way I spent the end of the World did not surprise me much or offer anything really intriguing in its plot , directing and overall atmosphere .

The film focuses on the coming of age of the 17 years old Eva during the last year of the communist regime of Ceauşescu. His 7 years old brother Lilu – also gets trough a lot of thinking and influenced by the environment around him he volunteers for a children`s choir which is to sing for the president , hoping that he would be able to assassinate the dictator.

Politics , betrayal and hope are the main themes in the film. A rather good portrayal of what the life was like in Romania during the ruling of Ceauşescu is probably the biggest value in the film. Yet I could not say that I enjoyed the film much as it got me bored in its first half hour – and watched the remaining hour hoping that something interesting would happen – but it did not. Then again as it is with all my reviews I am expressing my view on the film based on my thoughts and experiences – which would not necessarily overlap with the ones of you or others critics .

I have read some raving reviews of the film ( my guess by people who have not seen many films from Eastern Europe and that`s why what they saw on screen seemed intriguing ) – the folks at DVD talk even call it “ the kind of Sundance award-winner ” and while I disagree with such statement – you may want to check the film for yourself and decided upon who you are most likely to agree with .

The casting of the film was average – yet the performance of Doroteea Petre as Eva as well as the one of Timotei Duma in the role of her brother is worth mentioning . They deliver a good performance portraying the life of two children growing up during a communist dictatorship. Thanks to the two young leads perceptive beyond their years – fans of the coming of age genre might end up liking the film.

Trailer

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This review would have not be possible without the valuable support of CVMC .

Flight of the Navigator – remake

It seems that remaking old classics is a trending thing nowadays. Not long ago I wrote an article about the remake of “The Neverending Story” and today I am to report plans of new version of the Flights of the Navigator – originally released in 1986.

I am sure that most of you are familiar with the film ( even if it has not been reviewed yet at theskykid.com) – but just briefly – the original plot was about a twelve-year-old boy (Joey Cramer) who is abducted by a UFO in 1978 and reappears eight years later still the same age, with no memories of what happened.

Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs) is writing the remake, but no director is currently attached.

So now we have 3 classic films scheduled for a remake – ” Flight of the Navigator ” , ” The Never-ending Story ” and ” Karate Kid “. One can only hope that the studios involved would do a good job on the remakes and that the fans of the originals won`t be disappointed ( much ) .

My opinion is that those remakes are a good idea in general as a friend of mine once told me that many good films which were released only on VHS ones did not get a digital transfer and simply disappeared. If you know such a film – please let me know …

Here is the trailer for the original film:

When I Got Jesus With a Slingshot

When I got Jesus with a slingshot ( Da jeg traff Jesus… med sprettert) is a charming coming of age tale from Norway. It feels very nostalgic and biographical at the same time as it is based on the memories of the famous Norwegian poet Odd Borresen.

The film is pleasant to watch – as it focuses on the experiences of a boy growing up in Mid’30s Norway . The tone is set from the very first scenes as the protagonist ( already grown up ) narrates the story of his youth :

“I believe that the day the clock on the wall stopped was the last day I lived in the world of my childhood.”

The protagonist himself is not indicated until the fifth minute when we see a boy sitting in the showers of his dad, watching the passing planes and thinking that he has the world of his childhood beneath him. That’s how the viewer is introduced to the little Oddeman (Fredrik Stenberg Ditlev-Simonsen), a bright young lad trying to make sense of the world and the words and actions of the older ones.

And as it usually happens while one of his brother’s friends dreams of growing up, Oddeman is willing to stay on his head in an attempt to prevent that same phenomenon. What follows next are some great scenes of the growing-up experience – including games in the fields, fear of the dark ( and noises from the attic ), and a winter expedition that nearly ends in disaster.

The film’s acting is quite acceptable – especially one of its young leads – Fredrik Stenberg Ditlev-Simonsen and Martin Eidissen. I would recommend “When I Got Jesus With a Slingshot” to everyone who would enjoy a trip back to his childhood. The tasteful humor in the film makes it a perfect flick for the whole family.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvceVI7HJ34

When I Got Jesus With a Slingshot was the Norwegian entry to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001.

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This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC: The oldest movie rental service on the Internet — since 1998.

Carry Me Down by MJ Hyland

As soon as I finished the wonderful book by Robert McCammon Boy’s Life, I started looking for another similarly themed story, and that lead me to the discovery of “Carry Me Down” by M. J. Hyland.

While listening to it (Yes, I got the audio version.) I stumbled upon a great passage about the benefits of reading. :

“…Every school should have a library!

….yes, Sir, I say Yes, Mr. Rouch!

“No storybooks means no readying stories.

…yes, Sir, I say.”

No reading stories means no imagination. We all start life with imagination, of course. But without stories to feed it, the imagination, like a starved god, dies. And when the person does not read, and when a person has no imagination, they are sure to end up with no inventiveness of mind and spend the life with nothing but hackneyed warn out things to say—a life of slogans, jargon and cliches. A weak man repeats what he hears and makes himself dumb. . . and no imagination means that the only life you have been given, God knows looking around here I’d say some of you haven’t been given much of a life. ”

I believe that this short quote from the book is enough to raise your interest in it. I am glad that I have been reading a lot since I was around six. Both my teachers and parents have always encouraged this to be a habit of mine. I am positive that I would not have turned into the person I am if I haven’t read the books I have, the ones with adventures, Ancient Greece and Rome. The ones such as “Boy’s Life” and “Carry me down. “

And now to the story. The main character is John Egan, an imaginative and vulnerable 11-year-old who is on the edge of adolescence and learns about his new place in society the hard way. The story is narrated in the first person by the boy in a quite genuine manner, which soon makes you aware of John and his confused feelings, his parents, friends and relatives. One day John realizes that his father tells lies, and then things start to change for him. He decides that he possesses a weird gift detecting lies no matter how good the liar is and starts considering himself a ” Human lie detector.” He even starts writing a special book called “The Gol of Seil” and decided that the Guinness Book of World Records should be interested in his unusual gift.

While reading the book, you, like John, will discover a lot of things about Lies (I know I did) which would make you quite a good expert as well. John’s narration is very emotional and sincere, and I believe that every reader of the book will get attached to his story of growing up. Once he becomes a certain age, he believes that everything will change. That people treat him differently, and he struggles to discover the reasons for these changes.

As a chronicle of his coming of age experience, ” Carry me down ” is a great book as many youthful confusions are well described and analyzed. John wants to be different and unique. Don’t we all?

[pull_quote_right]I don’t see a point of living unless I could do something better than anyone else can. [/pull_quote_right]

A highly recommended by me, “Carry me down,” it is an engrossing story that at its heart examines an adolescent’s difficulties navigating the world.

PS: There is one very violent scene – around the beginning, which I found very tough. Also, since I listened to the audiobook, I would like to say that the narrator Gerard Doyle’s Irish accent fits perfectly into the story. He did an amazing job in transforming the words and emotions into spoken audio.

Carry Me Down by MJ Hyland Audio Review

Elie Dupuis

I have heard of Elie Deupis before, but a recent recommendation from a friend made me want to write an article about him. At the moment, I am listening to his song Band Band – recorded for the soundtrack of the French film ” Mommy is at the Hairdresser’s ” and am really struck by his voice and the emotions he delivers while singing. ( I am also trying to remember where I have heard that song before – it was another treble performer – but his name has slipt out of my mind ). ( another great performance of the song is the one of Nancy Sinatra – but I don`t have her in mind )

Listen Bang Bang performed by Elie Dupuis :

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJU_V3H4gcY

Elie’s family got a piano when he was 10 years old. After only two years of practice, he sent a demo to a Canadian program called La Fureur. Because of his appearance on La Fureur, he was chosen for one of the main roles for the film Maman est chez le Coiffeur (2008), where he shows off his musical skills.

In 2007, he was invited to Telethon Operation Enfant Soleil, where he met Annie Villeneuve, who will give him his first song. He will join on stage Charlemagne in a duo.

He performs regularly on the stage of Théâtre Hector-Charland, among others the benefit of the Fondation des Auberges du Heart, an organization that hosts youth homelessness or experiencing difficulties.

Elijah said he was “delighted” to live this experience with professionals who, like him, “vibrate for art.

The Blog of Elie at SkyRock

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMn6JY80xDU

Do you like the music of Elie Dupuis? Do you know something more about him – not listed there? I was hoping you could send me a comment or a message @skykid (on Twitter )

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Lost Boys: A Novel by Orson Scott Card Audio Review

Carry Me Down by MJ Hyland Audio Review