Today I made the 42 mile pilgrimage to the only theater in California that shows the movie. I was accompanied by my wife and my 15 years old daughter.
The theater was only about 15% full. Not surprising. Had I not been reading through my dose of FR this morning, I would not have known about it either.
In my opinion, this was the second best movie of the year (the first one being The Passion). No fancy special effects, no huge battle scenes, no nudity, not even much blood. Just the story of a boy, the victim of the most inhumane ideology in history, Communism, searching for freedom and finding his mother, but even more importantly, finding that the world is actually full of good people.
Now, I admit, we are biased, as we are originally from Bulgaria, the location of the prison camp in the movie. In addition, my wife's family had suffered a great deal from the Communists. One of her uncles lost his sanity in the exact same prison camp from which the boy escapes. That uncle committed suicide shortly after he was released after two years in that hellish place.
I highly recommend the movie to everyone above 12. All three of use enjoyed it immensely. We were all weeping at the end. That includes me, a 37 year-old "tough" man.
Ok, well, here's a link to Roger Ebert's review. Now, you may say "He's a stinking biased leftist" and to some degree I'd probably agree with you.
But, having seen the film, can you tell us where (if anywhere) Ebert's review is off-track? Here's an excerpt:
"I Am David" tells the story of a 12-year-old orphan boy who escapes from a Bulgarian forced labor camp and travels alone through Greece, Italy and Switzerland to his eventual destiny in Denmark. He has awfully good luck: Along the way, he meets mostly nice people who do what they can to help him, and there's an enormous coincidence just when it's most needed. Benji encounters more hazards on his travels than this kid.
I know, I know, I'm supposed to get sentimental about this heart-warming tale. But I couldn't believe a moment of it, and never identified with little David, who is played by young Ben Tibber as if he was lectured to mind his manners. In an era with one effective child performance after another, here is a bad one.
Ok, it brought your family to tears, but unless Ebert is just making it all up - it doesn't sound like much of a movie. Carefully structured to tug at the heartstrings maybe, but "the second best movie of the year"? Really? How many have you seen this year?
I was intrigued enough by this thread to read a number of reviews of the film, and it just doesn't seem worth seeing. Glad you liked it, though (especially after driving all that way); movies are supposed to affect the viewer.
Your input is invaluable and I thank you for your reflections on this film.
Your native country as well as the other Eastern European countries that were oppressed for so many years under Communism now have the awesome responsibility to let everyone know about the horrors of a Communist/Socialist ideology. The fact that the survivors like you have this opportunity is significant for all.
My ancestors were in Greece which suffered first under the Germans and the with the outbreaks of hostilities by the Communists. Fortunately for the Greeks, the Greek Civil war ended positively for them unlike the Bulgarians and other eastern Europeans who were coolly handed over to Stalin's tyranny by Roosevelt in 1945.