Mario

I saw this film years ago and found it surprisingly good. The film does a good job at showing just how much the older boy will do for Mario. The scene with the fireworks was great. It also captures the angst and internal conflict that the older boy feels with his growing interest in girls and how this conflicts with his desire to protect and maintain Mario's world.

The most interesting thing about it was that less than a decade later, it was essentially remade as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio as the two boys. What's interesting is that I have seen no one ever link the two films. The endings of the two are different, but the bulk of the story is the same.