blueaugust

Having read the book, I was disappointed with the way the premise was quickly and bluntly disclosed by Miss Lucy rather early on in the film. While scene in and of itself was very effective, I preferred the way the novel allowed the horror to slowly reveal itself to the reader.

That said, I thought this was a haunting and beautiful film. Here it is a week later and I keep replaying scenes in my mind...the quiet, humming,aching beauty of it. The performances of these 3 young actors were powerful. The subject matter would have been too much in less qualified hands. I was so moved by the absolutely stunning cinematography of this film. The clarity, color, angle of each shot was incredibly satisfying. Wonderful film.

This film is an absolute gem. It was filmed in and around Austin, and I didn't even know it until I saw the landscape. Not to mention the cameo of our former mayor Kirk Watson!

What can be said about Lili Taylor that hasn't been better said by superior raters? She's simply amazing as Evie. I've read other reviews that claim she was too old for the part and I completely disagree. She brings a clear and clean strength to this role that was absolutely required for the part to shine as it did. She just simply glowed through the movie like a firefly. Guy Pearce made this viewer fall in love with him the way Drumstrings made Evie fall in love.

Evie's relationship with her father was warm and touching. Her soul is so strong yet so fragile because of it's capacity to love that at one point I caught myself saying to the screen, "Don't break her heart. Please don't break her heart". This movie is a special treasure.

This movie is the type of good clean adventure kids today need. Happy endings are rare these days and kids need to experience HAPPY !! A group of kids take on the responsibility of Slappy The Seal after being found mistreated. Again, I think children need to see more of this......the need for humans to have compassion and sympathy for others, and a desire to do the right thing. Soon Slappy becomes an integral part of their group and the movie depicts their adventures (imagine how hard it is to keep a seal from being discovered by your parents for example). Predictable, yes......a little thin plot-wise, yes, but sweet and lighthearted just the same.