Edges of the Lord

I picked up this movie from a video store, not having heard about it before, and watched it on a vacation. I was completely surprised; this is one of the better movies I've seen. It's very moving in all aspects, with wonderful characterization-- characters one loves, and characters one hates. Dafoe and Osment pull of the thick Polish accents very well; so well that it might be a good idea to turn the subtitles on while watching the movie. Without giving any spoilers, I shall say that the plot, though profound, touching, and horrific, is not dramatic just to be dramatic. Every part of the plot, whether it was violent or humorous, religious or sexual, served its purpose in a believable way. I recommend this movie highly, though not for younger children; the R rating it received is fitting, as the movie, though not nearly as violent or sexual as some others, deals with those two themes in a disturbingly haunting manner.

This movie is about a young Jew that finds shelter in a small village in Polland and lives with Christians. I decided to rent that movie only because I had already watched most of Haley Joel Osment's movies and as I had found them all really nice that was sort of a guarantee. The trueth is that I did not expect it to be so nice. This movie, in contrast to most of the movies about WW2, is about the life during these years. the stars of the movie are: Haley Joel Osment, Liam Hess, Olga Fruzch, Richard Banel and Willem Dafoe. Edges of the Lord is probably the movie with the best performances by all the cast and especially by the kids. Haley did a great performance as usual as Romek,the 12 year old Jew, Olga was really great as Maria and Richard, as Vladek, was really fantastic. But, the highlight of the movie was the admirable performance of Liam. He was really great and powerful. Willem Dafoe was quite good, too. What I really admired about this film was the great ability of Yurek Bogaievich, the director, to seize the feeling of the people, fear-love-hapiness-sadness, and make it picture. He could harmonize the personnal feeling with the weather conditions or the things laing around the main characters.I suggest you to watch this movie and try to observe all the details, that is the only way to understand how great this movie is. Greetings from Larissa, Greece!!! Violet.

Haley has brought another movie to life, but this time he is not the only young actor to give a truly moving performance. Liam Hess really takes on Tolo's emotions and brings them out expertly to give a very convincing performance. One of England's hidden talents. The casting worked well with talent from Canada, USA, England, & Poland all coming together to create a movie that was a delight to watch. Look out for Haley's father/coach who also takes a small role in the movie. I liked the movie's originality, beautiful setting and realism. A classic, and one that you will not quickly forget.

I consider this film to be the best one with Haley J. Osment. I must admit that first I watched it only because HJO was starring in it (and because the film was shot in my country, ie Poland). Not only does Haley play wonderfully, but also the film itself is very good, mixing the times of WWII with the fragile construction of children's psyche. The film was made in Poland, so it was very nice to see Haley playing in Polish landscapes. I must say I am very surprised that the film was not yet released in the US. In Poland it was shown in cinemas in 2001. In January 2003 the film was released on DVD. A few weeks ago (November 2003) the movie was on TV so it had really wide audience. I don't understand why such a good movie was not released in the US !! If you want, you can write to me: (make sure it's o2, and not 02).

This film is about a Jewish boy being sent to live with a catholic family during the Holocaust.

Normally, a film about a boy suffering in the Holocaust should be a sure tear jerker that touches people right to the core. An example is the Oscar winning "Life Is Beautiful", which to me is still the best film of all time.

However, "Edges of the Lord" is a rare example of a failed Holocaust film. It documents the mischiefs of a group of children that is only weakly related to the Holocaust, that they who could have been anyone in any place. The story is not engaging, and lacks emotional portrayal either, as it keeps going on and on about rather unusual acts between the children. Seriously, how could a teenage girl invite a young boy into a room for an hour and then want the other boys to stone her? Or a young boy running naked in the rain? The plot is weak to start with, and spirals out of control into unforgivable chaos that is beyond redemption.

The deadliest weak point though, is the accent. It is understandable that the director wants to make the film "authentic", but if so, why not make the film in Polish or in German? It would have been even more authentic, and easy on the ears. The resultant fake Polish accent in "Edges of the Lord" is a strange chimera that is very unpleasant on the ears.

The only strong point I can think of is the strong acting by Liam Hess. "Edges of the Lord" is still a big disappointment.