Finding Neverland

Before even starting my review I think that it would be fair to let you know that I not only a fan of the movie and book about Peter Pan , but believe to have what it is called Peter Pan Syndrome myself. Now when that is settled I can say that I enjoyed Finding Neverland a lot. For those of you who haven’t heart of the movie it tells the story of the writer of the play Peter Pan J.M.Barrie and the family which inspired him to create his masterpiece . The actors did really god job in recreating this story which is inspired by real events. And then again no wonder – since in the role of J.M Barry is Johnny Depp and Peter is played by the remarkable young actor Freddie Highmore.

It was a pleasure to watch how the writer of Peter Pan spends his time playing with the boys who inspired him to write the play.He has to deal with the disapproval of the society – including the one of his life and the boy`s grand mother played by Radha Mitchell. It amazes me how stereotypes continue to live through the ages – stereotypes which aim to kill the imagination in every boy forcing him to grown up and become a serious respected member of the society – same like the rest grown ups surrounding him. Thankfully there are people who resist to that – those people try and often succeed to preserve the child in them during their whole life. I would like to believe that I am one of them.

There is one moment from the movie in which a friend of J.M Barry told him the following about the opinion of the people for his friendship with the boys :

“People watch you and their will look for ways to drag you down”

Sadly from my own experience I can confirm the validity of this statement. In the same scene the writer answered :

“You found a glamor of happiness in this world and always there is someone to destroy it”

Indeed those two quotes made impressed me with their truthfulness. Sadly I am not yet aware of a way to deal with such situation. If you do not pay attention to such people – neither should they do – but then its like someone can not stand other people happiness.

While watching the movie once over again I thought how truthful is the phrase that every time a child says he or she does not believe in fairies, one more fairy dies. This seems to be the case with a lot of kids these days – they are so well informed , surf the net and all – that the games of Cowboys and Indians are often forgotten replaced with computer games. Just few month ago a friend of mine gave a pack of plastic soldiers to a 10 year`s old boy – and the boy was quite surprised by this present. Why because he is now on MySpace, Facebook , plays Contra Strike and the plastic soldiers can not capture his imagination as they did with mine once.

But back to the movie -drama and comedy at the same time it is suitable for all ages. If you let it – it would touch you heart with the innocence of dreams , true friendship and sincerity .

Wild Tigers I Have Known

Talking about the weird movie – you would hardly be able to find one weirdest than Wild Tigers I Have Known. I just finished watching it and honestly can say that I had a bit of trouble understanding it – and yet at the same time, I feel a bit down because of it. At the same time, I tried to watch it several times – but something always happened – loss of interest or something else. This does not mean that the movie is bad – it’s just a bit freak. Maybe it was the plot – maybe it was the soundtrack…

In one of the scenes, an Afro- American woman sings a really calm song while Logan ( the main character) is relaxing in his bed – the song was so calm and a place that I almost fell to sleep myself. The whole soundtrack as the movie itself is kind of strange.

Logan is a thirteen-year-old boy who attends a Junior High School – he is lonely and feels different. He is by himself a lot and dreams … daydreams so much that his mother accused him of being constantly off in another world in one of the scenes. But he has one friend – another boy who seems to be nerdy and different as well. They go together through all the teenage talks and thoughts. But then one day, Logan meets what seems to be the school rebel – and he develops a crush on him. What follows is a weird mixture of feelings, questions, ignorance, bravery and dreams. Logan embarks on a journey towards his own identity…

No easy answers are provided in that movie -the plot revolves around a coming-of-age story- but there are many unclear things and unspoken ideas that the viewer is forced to think and decide what the film is really about. The movie’s cinematography is excellent – the lighting and colours leave a long-lasting expression and make the scenes really different and unique. There were few moments in which I noticed that the camera was shaking – like it would do in a homemade production and yet another scene in which the operator’s true professionalism can be really seen. Talking about abstract visual art-Wild Tiger I have known is just that.

Mickybo and Me

Brilliant – that word can easily describe the movie Mickybo and Me. I have not noticed a single flaw – the acting was outstanding , the music suitable , the story intriguing…

The movie follows the life and the adventures of Micky Boyle and Johnjo – two boys who both live in Belfast but different neighborhoods separated by a bridge and the religion divide between Catholics and protestants. And yet despite being on the opposite side of the divide they become friends . They sneak into the local cine to see the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which lives a long lasting impression in them. After seeing the movie Mickybo and Jognjo swear an oath to be blood brothers for life and they embark on a journey following the steps of their movie heroes.

Since the Mickybo and Me is an Irish movie – it is no wonder that the actors were speaking with an accent – but after 5 to 10 minutes of watching I used to to it. Mickybo and Me reminded me of two of my favorite movies Dear Frankie and Billy Elliot . Not only because of the accent – the movie is made by the film makers of Billy Elliot and even the mother of Mickybo is played by Julie Walters who played Billi`s ballet teacher. The two lead actors John Joe McNeill and Niall Wright make an outstanding debut in this movie – full of charisma and talent they easily won my sympathy.

There is lot of humor in the movie and because of that Mickybo and Me is very enjoyable to watch. But then it also touches some very serious topics like the Irish conflict , terrorism, the lost of innocence…etc. I also read that it portrait’s the life is the 1970`s Belfast pretty accurately. Overall the movie is great and I highly recommend it.

Mickybo and Me at IMDB ( link)

Acla’s Descent into Floristella

I have heard a lot about this movie – some people said that is was too harsh, others said it was controversial and then there were even some people who said that because of the descriptions available online they wonder if the movie is worth watching at all. Having seen it now – I can say that I found the movie was fine – but not that well acted or controversial as I through it would be.

Acla is coming of age movie about a boy who is sold as a mine worker by his parents. At the tender age of twelve his place is not there – but I know – and so do you that during the industrial revolution children from all over the world were forced to work in unbearable conditions. Acla`s decent into floristella is inspired by true events as the movie succeeds in the attempt to portrait the social climate of south Italy in 1930. In a small Italian village men have no choice – but to spent 5 days a week away from home working and living in the mines to make a living. Acla is to be treated as a man and part of the family only is he obeys the will of his father and work in the mines like him and his older brother.

I was disgust by the way the family of Acla treated their own son. Even his mother mentioned that it would be a disgrace if Acla do not accept the harsh life of a mine worker. After all the family received some money for sending their son to what pretty mush resembled slavery. There are several scenes that allow the viewer to observe the way of thinking of Acla`s mother and relatives – illiterate and poor , not watching to change or may be they just did not have a chance to do that.

The scenes from the Floristella`s mines reveal the horror in which young Acla is forced to live. Constant beatings and harassment’s are part of the daily life in the brutal working environment of the sulfur mines. The live in isolation forced some of the man who work in the mine to ” commit a sin” engaging in sexual activities with each other and even the young boys are not safe there. There are no sexual scenes but many sexual references and prepositions which makes the movie unsuitable for all ages.

This film is a stark, brooding film that uses components of naturalistic and realistic cinematic styles.

“A NEOREALIST VISION OF HELL THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD”
-Variety

http://youtu.be/AOiT9kZJCzk

La Revolte des enfants

Every person has right to be treated as human being – no matter how old or young he is.

La Revolte des enfants is movie about the despair attempt of a group of French boys in a reformatory institution to earn their right of human dignity. One could only guess how horrible were these boys treated – not because the movie succeeds to convey this message – but rather because there are movies with similar themes such as Song for a Ragggy Boy.

2 hours and 7 minutes are a bit too much for the story and I personally did not like the acting a lot. There were some good scenes ( few at the begging and one or two at the end) – but in general the director did a poor job in this movie. The soundtrack of the movie ( piano music ) was a bit annoying at times too.

La Revolte des enfants is watchable movie and will keep you in front of your monitor/screen for a while – and still there are far better movies out there with similar storyline.

The movie in IMDB

Iluzija (2004 )

“Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man.”

This is the first movie made in the Republic of Macedonia that I saw (see other my review of Golemata Voda (2004) ). I am still under its influence when I am writing this review, and I can assure you that once you have seen this movie, it will leave a lasting impression on you. Shown first at the Tokyo International Film Festival festival in Tokyo, Mirage is a prime example of quality European cinema.

When the movie started, I paid attention mainly to the surroundings as, for me, the director wanted to show the atmosphere in which Marco lives. But who is Marco? 12-year-old Macedonian boy -full of emotions, talent for writing, and dreams for a better life. The first few scenes reveal little of his personality as the directors show various scenes of Macedonia’s turbulent life. Those scenes seem to prepare the viewer for what he is about to see, explain the characters’ mentality, and set the overall tone of the movie. Even though these scenes are filmed professionally and the viewer is warned at the very begging of the movie that hope can not do any good – the viewer still is not fully prepared for what is about to happen in the course of the movie.

I have noticed that many young actors are now making memorable debuts and seventh-grader Marko Kovacevic is no exception. His character could be a real challenge for many much more experienced actors. Marco’s role is a symbiosis of two distinct words – the world of a young poet – his private world and the life in Macedonia, its social and economic climate seen through the eyes of a sensitive and innocent boy. Sadly this innocence is about to be lost as the story unfolds.

The life of Marco is not an easy one – he gets bullied at school, his father is an alcoholic – his sister is a rebel – his mother seems to have accepted a submissive way of existence, taking care of her family/husband. In one of the scenes, Marco asks his Mom if she could guess who wrote the best homework/story at his school – a typical question for every kid who did a good job and wants to be appreciated by someone, the closest one – the parent- she does not make a single comment or reaction to that question. Marco starts hating his home – the only place he can be alone with himself in an old train wagon in which he spends his time – thinking, dreaming, and playing chess by himself.

The teacher of Marco recognizes his talent and tell him that if he does well on writing a poem about the country he could be sent to a competition in Paris ( the city of life). The words of his teacher really influence Marco and he sees a way to escape from his harsh reality by winning the competition. Soon after Marco is about to find out that hopes and mirages are both dangerous and not always real as the world around him is far from ideal.

It is scary – I was scared by the truth that lies in Marco’s realizations for the world about him and life in general. A number of times there were people who like Marco’s teacher recognized in me one or another virtue and then I have seen that there is a lot of hypocrisy in their words. On a side note – that’s how I find myself in the States a few years ago.

There are several role models which Marco can choose to follow – his teacher is one of them. He proves not worthy later on. But Marco meets Paris – an ex-soldier who is more or less a criminal – living by the laws of the jungle “Eat of be eaten”. One could conclude that life hasn’t been easy for Paris, but his strong character helped him survive. Marco learns a lot from their conversations – but in the end, he is disappointed by him as well. At one moment, Marco thought that he could avoid the beating by joining the bullies – yet another mistake that proves one of the rules I live by – Be what you are!

Betrayed by everyone – Marco decides to act….and then the ending comes.

Mirage is one of the most hash and influential coming-of-age movies I have seen so far. I highly recommend him – however, keep in mind that :

“Mirage” is not, by any stretch, a pleasant film to endure. Its harshness may agitate those who are not used to such a bleak depiction of life.

Temporada de patos /Duck Season

I saw this movie last night. It was one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen – weird in a good way. The story line is simple – two 14 years Flama and Moko are preparing to spend typical Sunday afternoon in an apartment somewhere in Mexico. They are typical teens and as soon as are left alone start playing video games. Those scenes – the scenes on which they play are really fun – I almost wanted to jump and turn my Sony on just because of the way both boys were getting into it. Then as they play the doorbell rings – and it turns out to be their neighbor next door – good looking girl who wants to use their oven. At first the boys are way too busy with their game to pay any attention to the girl.

Naturally they get hungry and order a pizza. The delivery man is quite a character you would see – riding his motorcycle as crazy in the city to get the order in time. But he was late – or may be he was`t but that is what the Flama said in order to avoid paying for the Pizza. What follow is a comic, and tragic and real – all at ones – the delivery man decides to stay untill gets paid , the girl run in some troubles while using the oven – and the Flama and Moko are being typical teens . Now we have four people in the flat and it seems that they will get to know each other better …

The acting in this movie is quite well – and this is despite the fact that most of the cast does not have any previous experience as actors. All scenes are in black and white which created an unique atmosphere . The photography is excellent and shows the immense talent and creativity of the movie director. You may also notice that the movie is full of symbolism – the ducks , the candies which the girl bites trying to guess their color and many more. You just have to read between the lines.

Duck Season is indeed a very realistic movie , full with life lessons – simple and complex at the same time. It would provide enjoyment for all fans of international ,independent and comping of age movies .

The Last Legion (2007)

Rome – there is something about it . I enjoy reading books ( such as I, Claudius ) or watching movies( such as the TV series Rome ) about the life of the ancient Romans . I took Latin classes while I was attending high school in the US and my teacher`s only fueled my interest towards the Roman epoch.This probably is enough to explain my excitement when I found out about a new movie out there called The last legion.

The Last Legion’ is an epic adventure following the events surrounding the capture of Rome’s last emperor, 12 year old Romulus Augustus, and his imprisonment on the island of Capri.

I just saw it. Thomas Sangster plays the leading role of the last emperor of Rome – Romulus Augustus. His acting in the Last Legion is truly remarkable . (and is probably the best asset of this movie ) The storyline could have been better as at times the action was a bit predictable at times. The movies is full of references of other tales – Roman , British …etc – but somehow it does not appeared to me as a serious roman tale. Nevertheless I enjoyed watching it . The movie is full with nice fighting scenes which keep the viewer entertained. As about the battles – there is a lot more to be expected from them – its not believable that just because someone screamed out ” The tyrant is dead” – the army under his command would stop fighting.

I saw many negative reviews out there – Rotten Tommatoes for example is full of them – but my opinion is that the reviewers are a bit too harsh on the movie. Yes it is not that serious and fact based – but it has its own charm – its easy to watch and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon ( :

http://youtu.be/ogpOgmP6MgI

Machuca

I watched Machuca yesterday – the plot is quite interesting- and a bit controversial . I am not familiar with Chilie were the actions takes place – but regardless I truly enjoyed my first Chilean movie. The main character is the young Gonzalo Infante – I even thought that he is the one who is called Machuca .

It turned out that Machuca is a name of another boy who befriends Gonzalo at school. In a way the two boys reminded me of the prince and the pauper – Gonzalo being from a rich family – a bit spoiled may be – and Machuca coming from the poorest neighborhoods – attending the school of Gonzalo only because the priests there tired to run some social program for integration or something like that.

The most antipathetic character for me in the movie was the cousin of Machuca – Silvana – who treated Gonzalo really badly calling his Snob and making fun of him every time she can. She teaches the boys how to kiss and hang out with them – but my overall impression of her is very bad. I am moderately tolerative by my opinion – but in a way the movie did not succeed to make me feel sympathy for the Indian/ gypsy inhabitants . Probably it is not easy to act otherwise if you are born in such neighborhood and discriminated against all your life – but still I could relate much more to Gonzalo then to Machuca.

Gonzalo and Machuca become very good friends – despite the bad treatment of Silvana . The parents of both boys – or at least their mothers seem to approve the friendship of their sons – they are having fun and earning money – by selling Chilean flags on political rallies of Communists and Nationalists on the streets. Those rallies become more and more violent and seeing the Chilean reality through the eyes of Gonzalo can really keep you starring at the screen. You can learn a lot from this movie – I saw some opinions of people who lived in Chilie who stated that everything – the dress code , the products , the expressions – etc is very realistic . I was surprised myself – as the Saint Patrick School could have been in the UK – I never realized that such institutions were present at Chilie .

Machuca is great coming of age movie and highly recommend it .

Torzok

Abandoned also known as Torzok is a powerful movie. It was made in Hungary and is a fine example of the East European cinema. Its director Árpád Sopsits shows the reality of a reformatory school during a communist regime in the country. He uses the yellow color to separate the dream like scenes from the rest – this color technique is later used in the movie Traffic. The movie portrays the harsh reality of the live in Hungary from that time because it is actually based on the writer/director’s own childhood.

The main character is Áron – a boy send to a reformatory school not because he has some something , but because his mother is sick and the father does not want to take care of his son. Once in the school Áron has to face the initial hostility of the lands there towards the newcomers – including beatings and hard words .He manages to survive through all those harsh moments and is soon accepted and befriended by the boys from the school.

The actors in the movies are exceptionally talented despite their young age and the characters they portray come to live – each with its own uniqueness. The overall atmosphere is dark and the movie can be considered as hard to watch by anyone – probably the only one witch harsher atmosphere on a similar topic was in the movie Song for a raggy boy . The few moments of hope which the viewers can observe are directly related to the friendship between Aron and another student Attila as well as the one with his melancholic teacher Gálffi – who seems to be the only teacher from the reformatory school who cares of his students and opposes even the despotic director of the institution.

Some of the scenes are really cruel – in one of them one of the teachers makes few boys to beat a friend of theirs themselves because he prayed to God – which was forbidden during the communist years.This boy however is able to prove a great deal to the other boys through his faith in things un-seen. [1]The cruelty in which the boys in the school are treated is awful and I do not buy the statement of their directors – that this is the only way to prepare them for the reality outside .

The soundtrack is very powerful -classic music mostly – a bit of melancholic as well – it really contributes to the overall atmosphere.

A must see coming of age masterpiece – I highly recommend this movie.

“In the tradition of Louis Malle’s “Au Revoir Les Enfants” and other pics that autobiographically depict a grim world of alienated children, Abandoned is strangely beautiful thanks to the impressive camerawork by Peter Szatmari and the perfect performances. The Music by the group After Crying fits in very well.”

David Stratton, Variety

Torzok at IMDB ( link )

Put the camera on me

The fact that I did not have Internet tonight was more of a blessing than a curse as I get to dig some of the movies that were laying around my external hard drive . Picked an excellent one – it is called “Put the camera on me” and it is a documentary. A documentary – au that must be boring – but no – because that was not an ordinary documentary, but rather fun and very arty made mixture of short movies shoot by Darren Stain.

When he was little boy his dad brought home a camera and Darren being very artistic and imaginative soon learned how to use it and was obsessed with the idea of making movies – regular one and crazy one starring himself and his friends . About 20 years later Daren combined these movies and together with his original stars – created the movie I just watched.

The best part of this movie was that while watching it I unconsciously started to remember similar situations that have happen to me few years ago– you know playing out with yours friends, having a hell a lot of fun, making cool tricks …etc– so the movie of Daren through not complicated or charged with great ideas or thoughts was quite an experience.

It gave me some ideas – like writing down my memories – making a script and getting few friends to play in it – oh I know that that is not probably going to happen – but the idea is cool anyway – imagining how it will be – I guess I will be able to do the first part and if I do you will be able to see few things at my blog.

But back to the movie – if you can get a hold on it see it – you won`t regret it. I remember talking with a friend about it. He said that the movie was shoot in such a way that it captured the time of 80`s and watching it is warming and cool experience – like flipping the pages of your own yearbook.

Undertow

A tale of violent legacies between two generations of brothers

The movie started and I noticed a familiar face – an actor from one other movie – Jamie Bell in the role of Chris. He has grown up since the time I watched him as Billy in Billy Elliot – but his acting talent remained unchanged.

The movie itself is excellent and I caught myself thinking of it quite a lot the next day after seeing it. There are many nice effects such as changing colours, negative frames, freezing moments and they all contribute greatly to the overall atmosphere making you think of the movie as an art masterpiece.

As I was watching the movies I almost jumped several times – it builds a lot of tension and evokes emotions with supercharged scenes. The characters are quite interesting as well – the older brother Chris with his dreams and pursuits that get him in troubles sometimes (which is why he is known to the police) –and the younger brother – Tim (played by Devon Alan) – extremely smart and at the same time weird kid who likes to eat books and taste or eat just about anything he finds interesting – things like mud or paint…etc. Their hardworking father who takes care of his two sons is another interesting character – after the death of his wife he choose to live in isolation in Georgia – he to has some skeletons in his closet like all of us. I agree with the opinions with some other reviewers that the characters are so well developed characters that a different movie can be filmed for every single one of them.

The soundtrack interesting as well – combination of orchestra music, children voices, mystery vibes it is at least as good as the movie itself and my guess is that most people who like the movie would want to get the soundtrack as well – I know I do.

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TheSKyKid.com