The Devil’s Backbone

I did not quite get the whole movie , but have to admit that it had brilliant cinematography. It is a well made movie – may be the abstract plot – a ghost story with a twist combined with rather unusual story telling caused my confusion at times. But with Pedro Almodóvar as producer- its obvious that it was not going to be your average movie. The movie director – Guillermo del Toro did a great job in the The Devil’s Backbone, which he claims to be extremely autobiographical movie for him

The story is set during the Spanish Civil War – young boy named Carlos is left in an orphanage by his tutor . His father is dead – but Carlos doesn`t know that. Everything is new for him and he has to adapt, to win the respect and friendship of the other boys living the orphanage. And as if that is not a real challenge itself – he has to learn to deal with his own fears.

Some other reviewers wrote that the movie is rather slow paced – but I disagree with that opinion. I enjoyed the development of the story as it allowed me to get familiar with the characters – their positive and negative sides , even their thoughts may be. This became possible thanks to the remarkable performance of the young actors and the rest of the cast. The The Devil’s Backbone is labeled as horror movie , but to me it offered much more drama than horror – despite the fact that it gets creepy at times. The ghost in the story is seen mainly by the kids – most of the time anyway. Probably that is what the director meant when saying:

“In so many ways, the movie tries to deal with the ghost of something from the life of the kids, a ghost of something that you lost, something that haunts you, something that you never did.” It is a metaphor for the ghosts that haunt one’s life, a universal understanding of fear.”

I could only add – that the movie did deal with all this haunted visions in one`s life – even in mine – at the house when I go upstairs sometimes I hear whispers , steps – may be this is just my imagination – but my heart beats faster and I run through the big hallway to the nearest switch and am getting calm as soon as the lights are on. I never through of this – but now after seeing this movie and reading what the director had said about it – all these experiences start making sense.

http://youtu.be/703hNsc5Bvg

The Kite Runner

Beautiful movie full of wisdom and emotions. I admit that there are still tears in my eyes after seeing this brilliant masterpiece directed by Marc Forster ( Finding Neverland). After seeing the final credits I really feel that this movie enriched my life. The plot is brilliant and provides many surprising outcomes – some scenes are disturbing , other draw tears in my eyes , and some evoked anger in me – I have said it before – it a movie makes you feel than its succeeded in its mission – to tell a story and suck the viewer into it. It is not an easy task to decide what this movie is about – friendship , betrail, lost innocence, forgiveness ,devotion….I can go on like that for a long time.

The Kite Runner is based on a novel of the name name written by an Afghan American author Khaled Hosseini. I liked the movie so much that I already own a copy of the book and am going to start reading it soon . I have heard that the book provides much more insights to the story then the movie does – which is usually the case with books. The script of the movie can be downloaded for free. On the same time you could also listen to the soundtrack – which is quite remarkable ( I got a copy of it as well).

The acting in the movie is really good – once again first time actors such amazed me with their talent and convincing performance. Zekeria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Mahmidzada who are the child star in the movie moved to Saudi Arabia because their family fears that they could be kidnapped or even assaulted because of of a disturbing scene in the movie. Actually the movie was delayed – because the studio wanted to ensure that the boys are safe . More info and links you can find on the movie`s Wikipedia entry.

I am not going to reveal much details of the plot as you will be able to get an idea about it from the trailer of the movie which I have included below. I hope that the review will be useful for you anyway and I urge you to see the movie when it gets released to your country. I really have to make a top 10 of my all time favorites – and I am sure that The Kite Runner will find its well deserved place there.

Blauvogel (1979)

Blauvogel was in my collection from quite some time – but I have not seen it – mainly because I was not sure if I could follow along without subtitles. The movie is German – but I found dubbed Russian version which made the viewing easier ( I am currently taking German I – but it would take time until I can watch and understand movies in it). Despite the worries I had the movie turned out to be an easy one to watch .

While I am a big fan of stories about American Indians – Blauvogel did disappointed me a bit. It is released in 1979 and may be this is one of the reasons for which the filming was not that good, the scenes convincing enough or even the acting believable ( well Robin Jaeger did well )- but I have seen other movies released near that year which turned better.

The story develops around 1850 when an English farmer settles in America with his family. His oldest son George ( 10 y.o) is kidnapped by the Indians and later on accepted in their tribe under the name Blue Bird. He faces many challenges – coming of age in this new environment . And when he becomes a man and the circumstances make him return to his English family he has to find himself once again – will he succeed?

The movie was not perfect , but I liked it never the less. Somehow it just felt like I am out there in the field playing the role of George ( I did that many times – being an Indian was one of my favorite fantasies ) . The coming of age element is considerable – as George develops a lot as a character – even through right after his childhood , we see him as 20 years old man.

I have read other review stating that there was an excessive amount of violence in Blauvogel – but I did not found this to be true.

http://youtu.be/8boO_tUn0WY

IMDB page (link)

D.A.R.Y.L.

Just saw this science fiction movie and decided to add my 2 cents to the opinions about it online. It is a good movie – for its time anyway ( 1985 ) – and somehow it feels like watching a prototype of Artificial Intelligence with Haley Joel Osmond. The movie has been recommended to me by a friend of mine who is obsessed with aircraft and is found of Barret Spencer Oliver who played the leading role of an eleven years old boy with artificial brain. I myself am not very familiar with the actor – aside from his role of Bastian in The Neverending story.

Still I think that he did well – and his acting in D.A.R.Y.L deserves a high five. The plot of the movie must have been very innovative for its time – and the movie succeeded to preserve some special appearance even nowadays ( the good movies have no age as we all know). I have to admit that I have seen better movies with similar thematic – but at the same time I am not really familiar with the movies released in the 80`s. ( then I have a favorite released then – ET). If I am to compare this movie with the most recent released Artificial Intelligence I would pick the second one as it somehow succeed to evoke more emotions in me.

D.A.R.Y.L on its own is a fun movie to watch – but I doubt I will remember much of it ( aside from the acting of Barret). The movie did rises some moral issues – like the one shall anyone destroy a machine if the difference between a man and it can not be seen or sensed ? I think that this would be barbaric – especially when this would involve hurting a youth ( as Daryl in the movie).

See this movie if you can – the enjoyment is guaranteed ! In the meantime check out its trailer below :

Buitenspel (2005)

Another movie that made it in my all-time favourites list – Buitenspel, is a great coming of age story that I highly recommend to you. I just finished watching the movie – and I am still hooked on the DVD extras – all the interviews and scenes, and the music – the music is one of a kind. The movie’s main character is 12 years old Gilles – who plays football and dreams of becoming invited to the “Red Devils” teams ( the Belgium nationals).

His father supports him a lot, and there is a strong bond between them. Buitenspel is one of these movies which focuses on the father-son relationship amongst other things and does that in such a unique manner that will make you want to watch it over and over

again.

In general, I am not fond of watching soccer games ( but love playing it when I have an opportunity ). Still, the scenes in Buitenspel, which focused on that game, went good that I felt all the excitement related to watching a final of your favourite team. If you like soccer, you will fall in love with this movie. A few years ago, I wish it was available when I was trying to get my best friend from the USA ( who happens to be the same age as Gilles) hooked into Soccer – as I would have succeeded insure in that task.

Ilya Van Malderghem plays Gilles’s role – and I have to say that he did an incredible job in the movie. The other actors – especially Filip Peeters, who played the father did a great job as well. Getting sucked into the story -is a major indicator that the actors surpassed my own expectations. Gilles learns about himself – how to deal with disaster, misfortunes – the importance of believing in himself. His path to coming of age is not an easy one – but one which every fan of the genre would truly appreciate seeing.

Finally, I would like to mention the excellent ending, not a typical one indeed – but allow me to quote the pal who gave me that movie first place :

“…. it makes the story rather real this waythe sad ending, like…. down to earth story… more like stressing on the real life…. it would have been a bit of cliche if it was pink happy ending but it wasn’tand it’s stronger story this way “

http://youtu.be/W51FdvXAkiA

IMDB page (link)

If you enjoy sport-themed films, you may also like Believe (2013) Teufelskicker (2010), Kicking and Screaming, Carlitos y el campo de Los sueños.

Joe the King (1999)

Saw this movie about an hour ago. It is not an ordinary movie – or at least not one you would commonly expect to find as a blockbuster . But never the less Joe the Kind is the kind of movie I like – showing what can really happen in the real life.A festival type of film which provides a real challenge for the mind of the viewer.

The flaw of this movie was that the action was developing slowly – but when you think about it – may be the slow pace is on purpose -so the viewer can be really sucked in the story and the life of Joe. The main character Joe – himself is a 13 years old boy who is trying to come out of age in an suburban working town. With an indifferent mother and abusive father – the life is not easy for Joe. From what I saw may be a little bit of affection from either of his parents could have turn the page – and the whole story would have been different . Instead he has to work at the nearby restaurant – there you go – you have young boy who is responsible enough to support his family , tries his best to be a good student and really cares for his mother ( which can not be said for her). Joe cares for his father as well – so does his brother – but as result Joe gets spanked at school and five years later his brother get beaten.

The acting in the movie is very good – Noah Fleiss plays in the role of Joe and really succeeds to show the desperation in life of Joe. Val Kilmers plays in the role of Joe`s dad and I think that he did good , even through I read some comments elsewhere which stated the opposite because of the ” cool dude ” image of the actor.

An excellent coming of age story , Joe the king is a must see for the fans of this genre. I was able to make many personal references – mainly due to the fact that sometimes the good people get what they do not deserve – and I have felt that on my own back few years ago.

http://youtu.be/5TlvmSOeNbs

IMDB (link) Review (link) RT page (link) COA list (link)

Children Underground

Children Underground is one of the most astonishing and disturbing documentary movies I have seen. Its director Edet Belzberg succeeded to present a real picture of the horror in which thousands of Romanian kids are forced to live at. It is not easy to describe what was happening inside of me while watching Children Underground – seeing this kids living in the subway station,sniffing paint to get high and forget for a moment of their misery is a heart breaking experience. Every time I see a movie like this a documentary so harsh ( similar to the works of Wiktor Grodecki) – I wonder what is like to film a movie like this . You can`t just stay and let the camera run while the kids get beaten and abused – and yet if you interfere the reality would change as soon or later you will finish making your movie and leave…While trying to find an answer to these questions I saw an interview of Edet Belzberg (link). I found an answer to my question in the words of Belzberg :

[quote_box_center]Basically, I tell them what is shown in the film is a fraction of what actually takes place. That what you see in the film doesn’t even compare to what the children endure on a daily basis. A child could be beaten as many as four or five times a day by a passerby, a shopkeeper, another street kid, and so I really felt that it was my responsibility to show the reality of the situation and to really focus on long term goals rather than short term solutions. Had I intervened once, twice, ten times, even a hundred times every day while I was there, it wouldn’t have changed the situation at all, and it wouldn’t have been an accurate representation of the children’s lives. People who had seen rough cuts often said to me, you can’t show this, you can’t do this. People will not be able to handle it. [/quote_box_center]People often suggested I dilute it and take out the violent scenes, and that was something I was extremely opposed to.

While for most parts I agree with the director I guess one has to be very professional to be able to shoot a documentary like that without interfering in the reality. The kid I felt really bad for while watching the movie was the young Mihai – who seemed to be intelligent and polite boy. In the scene in which he started cutting himself I felt to desperate – and wonder what is like to film such a scene without stopping him – I could have never done that. There are discussions in the movie IMDB page about this scene too.

Children Underground is a documentary that I recommend to you – why – because it is real – whatever that means. I have seen children like that on the streets – they are there , and we can`t just close our eyes pretending that they are not existing.

The movie at IMDB (link)

The Cure (1995)

I have heard that this movie is really great. Times and times, it was recommended to me by almost everyone who has seen it – and the only reason which prevented seeing me earlier was that I was unable to get a decent copy of it. Yesterday I finally watched it – up until 4 am actually and now I can say that I would join the people who regard this movie as one of the best made. The Cure tells the story of 2 friends – 11-year-old Dexter, diagnosed with AIDS from a blood transfusion, and his best friend, Erik. Joseph Mazzello plays the leading roles ( I last saw him in the movie Radio Flyer ) and Brad Renfro ( he played in movies such as Skipped Parts, Sleepers, and the Client ). Both actors did an incredible job in The Cure. I am having a hard time thinking of another movie in which real and close friends are better portrayed. The soundtrack is excellent, and the music fits nicely into the scenes contributing to their impact on the viewer. See and hear for yourself -a scene from the movie with the song The Great Escape performed by Marc Cohn playing :

I highly recommend this movie. If you can`t find it – see a clip created by scenes from it and set to the song Imagine performed by Declan Galbraith -here – but beware the clip reveals a bit too much of the movie`s plot.

I didn’t take too many notes during this movie; I was too busy crying. Not because of the easy target one becomes when confronted by a brave, bright little boy with an incurable illness. But because the acting is so persuasive that the characters feel like family.(1)

Similarly themed movie is the French Oscar et la Dame Rose (2009) – and collectively it and the cure are one of the most emotional dramas the coming of age genre is proud with.

La Teta Y La Luna

Beautiful film – beautiful music , brilliant acting. La Teta Y la Luna tells the story of the nine year old Tete who feels not loved enough when his baby brother is born and strives to attract the attention of his mother. Seeing how his mother breastfeed his brother he wished he was able to be at his place and because his mother is taking care of the baby he asks the moon to send him a girl just for him ( breasts just for him to be more precise ). The fate sends him Estrella – a French cabaret performer who travel across the country with her husband. Tete falls in love with her -he brings her a present and she gives him what he wanted – everything seems perfect. But he is not the only one in love – a local teenager falls in love with Estrella as well . This teenagers is called Miquel and he tries to attract the attention of Estrella by singing a beautiful flamenco.

The narrative of the movie made the most impression – everything is seen and narrated by the young Biel Duran who plays the role of Tete. He does that so well, acting so naturally – that you can`t stop remembering what your life was at his age . La Teta Y La Luna is a movie full of symbolism. At the same time it remains fun, cute and very entertaining . Its a shame that I had this movie in my collection for such a long time and had not seen it until this evening ( actually morning ). Once again a prime example of the movie which can be made only in Europe as I have not seen anything coming from Hollywood that comes close to such brilliant cinematography . The movie has its share of sexy moments – some of which too kinky for one`s taste – but they are making it just more different and interesting then the rest.

A coming of age story with a difference

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111403/combined

Declan Galbraith – You and Me- Review

Finally today I got the new album of Declan Galbraith – “You and Me”( I first mentioned it here ) – at the moment I am listening to the title song and have to say that through his voice has changed – it still sounds quite nice. In this first song – first in the album as well the vocals are arranged in such a way – which reminds me a bit of the sounding of Queen – while I am not even attempting to make any comparison – I have to say that this is probably the best direction in which Declan could go ( and yes I am fan of Queen as well ) . The second song in the album Leavin’ Today seems to be some kind of a ballad – it has some nice pauses after which the voice of Declan rises in an interesting way. The third song is going to be the most popular from the album – because it was released as a single called ” Ego You ” – and by now almost all of you have seen its clip on You Tube or elsewhere.

The forth song in the album is titled I Think I Love You – it has very unusual sound – reminds me a bit of the music you would most commonly hear in some of the modern musicals nowadays. In a way while I listen this song I could almost see in my mind a theatrical stage – and the choir behind Declan singing …

The fifth song has a special Title – according to it Declan not only thinks he loves you – he does – and that is why the song is titles “I do love you” . The song is my favorite from the album so far – I have to mention – that the way I write this review is as follows – the CD is in my player for the very first time – and I have never heard the songs before – not even the short exerts that were available – so as soon as I hear a song I write about it . The songs is very melodic – and the lyrics are nice.

Oh….I just heard the begging of the sixth song – titled Nothing Else Matter – yes the classic of Metallica – but performed by Declan. Now I could be very critical for this song – why because it has a special place in my life. I danced with the first girl I felt in love when this song was playing , then I kissed her for a first time – my first real love – and people are right that memories of it remain – and nothing else matters . So when I saw the title something trebled inside of me – when the song started I thought – hey that is not the song – but why this title – a mistake I made because of the opening vocals – but then Declan`s voice came in and I have to admit that he did a great gob performing this classic masterpiece . I will just add a quick note that the only better performance I know other than the original one of course was the one of Vienna Boys Choir in their album Vienna Boys Choir Goes Pop from 2002.

The seventh song is titled Missing you – it has a nice uplifting rhythm – and the lyrics seem quite nice as well. I think that this sound would be great if you travel somewhere – or walk down the streets and listen it on your music player.Missing You is an 80’s song that was originally performed by John Waite. It is very 80’s. I love how Declan’s team kept true to the original beat and sound.[1]

The eight songs is Everybody Tells Me – it is a ballad from what I hear – the lyrics are a bit sad – probably for me because I associate them with personal experiences .

The next song is Moody Blues– short song – ballad again – and really nice guitar sounding in it. So far this is the second best song in the album for me. lyrics

The tenth song is Sister Golden Hair – for some reason I do not like this song much. It sound a bit of the 60`s vibes – if you know what I mean – especially with that “Doo wop doo wop …” in the end. lyrics

The eleventh song is Maybe – sounds quite nice- but so far that is all I can say about it.It has a positive message – which is something I like in songs.Maybe is a song written by and performed by Thom Pace. Not big in the US but a hit in Germany in the 70’s.[1]

The next song is Everything’s Gonna Be Alright – remind me of a song from his previous Album Thank you – House of the Rising Sun is I am not mistaking .

The thirteenth song Ruby Tuesday is really nice ballad – the back vocals are great. It reminds me a song of The Beatles ,but is is originally a Rolling Stones song. It’s got that late 60’s/70’s sound to it.[1]

The 14th songs is the classic – I’d Love You To Want – a Ballad again – did Declan overdid the ballads in this album – yes I know that it is called ” You and me ” – but still – may be this is because of the changed vocal range – there are rare appearances of high voice – may be it is for the best. The song is fine – with great rhythm – or my third favorite so far !

The Living Years comes 15th – it just became a fav of mine – because of the choir who supports the vocal parts of Declan – great songs that becomes my number one !The Living Years was originally performed by Mike and The Mechanic’s in the 80’s. Declan’s cover of it is a different pitch; probably due to vocal change issues.[1]

The 16th song is I’m Cryin’ For You – another ballad in here – again the back vocals are impressive and same goes for Declan`s performance here.The final song is a Christmas present for all of us – the fans of Declan – its name is Guardian Angel and I like it – will make sure that it will be included in my xmas play list.

Overall my impression of the album is good. As I have mentioned – probably one of two more fast paced songs would have been beneficial . The album is good – but my favorite album of Declan is his first one – his voice range was much larger back then – and now he is going to put some extra work to develop its new sounding.

[1] Information added thanks to SoCalJay – Please find his original comment below

Tones of new material is available at Declan`s official site ( here)

Check out my review of Thank you ( here )

Get the lyrics ( here) BCSD (here)

Purchase “You and Me” at Amazon.de ( here)

Innocent voices (2004)

Being a powerful drama based on real events (the film is based on the childhood experiences of its screen writer) – Innocent voices made a direct entry in my all times favorite movie list. The director of the movie did an excellent job – portraying the horrors of the civil war in El Salvador in the 80s through the eyes of a young boy – the eleven – year old Chava.

Both parties in this war recruit young boys ( 12 year old and even younger sometimes ) for their armies or fractions .The government’s armed forces collect the boys from the streets, their school and their homes – separating the young lads from their families and friends . In the harsh reality of the civil war – the “greatest battle of Chava and his friends is to remain kids”. There are some great scenes showing how the child in the streets play games, fall in love and do the things kids do – you even wonder how is that possible since the bullets can strike any moment – and innocence can be lost forever …

The director did a great job – and some of the scenes are sure to stuck to your mind for a long time – the scens in which see the boys from the villages hiding on the roof to avoid being picked up by the soldiers is an example for such scene. There are many subplots and ideas – yes Innocent voices is coming in age movie , but it it also about the love of a mother , the horrors or war , the hopes of a generations for better life.

Yet I have to mention the talent of all actors starring here – despite the fact that for many of them Innocent Voices is their first screen appearance – their acting is outstanding. Here I want to mention and one of my favorite characters – a man who seems to be mentally incapable – but has a great heart and truly makes a difference in the life of many people from the society – helping old women, hanging out with Chava and his friends – and most importantly standing for his friends , being there when he is needed.

Also as you may already know – for me a movie deserves a high mark if it is able to evoke feelings in its viewers. That is probably the reason most of my favorite titles to be in the Drama genre. And Innocent voices makes no exception – I really felt for all Chava was forced to go through…

Great movie pals , not an easy one to watch – but worth seeing !

Entrusted

Entrusted is a great movie made for TV which plot revolves over the eleven years old Thomas von Gall ( played by talented young actor Thomas Sangster ) . Chess master at that tender age and being a very intelligent boy Thomas is trained in survival tactics and entrusted by his mater with the access codes to bank accounts in Switzerland . The money from those account are being used to help people to escape the murders and humiliations of the Nazis .

The Nazis want the money – but there is no way of getting them without knowing the proper authorization codes. After years of chasing Thomas`s mother – they began working with her former teacher – who remembers that she was pregnant when he last saw him and that the only way to get to her will be through her child. One day Thomas gets kidnapped from the Nazis and spend a lot of time with the professor of his mother , who tries to look into the boys mind and soul. Thomas alone, is left to fight the battle that will ensure the safety of thousands of people…

This movie have a brilliant photography and the scenes are really nicely arranged – sometimes even too nicely for the plot – but they make the movie more appealing – with a bit of sacrifice on the reality factor. Still it does remain fine coming and age movie and if you can find it ( I have heard that in Walmart it is available for about $ 5 ) – watch it – you will enjoy it.

This film is also known as Daddy and Im Visier Des Bösen.

TheSkyKid.com

TheSKyKid.com