Mickybo and Me

The story is basically that of two young boys in Belfast in the summer of 1970 who come from opposite sides of the sectarian divide. Obsessed with the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they decide to run away to Australia and leave their problems behind.

I've seen this film twice and would happily watch it again. The two young main characters, Jonjo and Mickybo, are wonderfully cast and the story dwells on their friendship and their need to escape their lives rather than being just another film about the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The cast is excellent, Adrian Dunbar being a standout as the wastrel father. The film is definitely a crowd pleaser but the story is good enough to avoid being corny or sentimental.

The world could be much better and easier if the children were heard or if they could speak more. The real world problems and boring routine are fantasy and dream for the kids.

Mickybo and JonJo are two of these young beings who simply don't see the things the way we adults too. They love cinema and have a special passion for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. After watching their heroes at the movie theatre they see daily life as a scenery for the adventures they create on their fresh minds.

They live in Belfast, a beautiful city that is unfortunately terrorized by bombs and religious division. They live on opposite sites of the place, but the imagination and sense of adventure they share make their friendship develop fast. This is a nice film that makes us see the hard reality through the eyes of these kids who do their best to make their dreams come true. We learn a lesson out of it: we should never stop dreaming.

Agree with all the previous positive comments about this terrific, underrated little movie. Julie Walters is as always quite wonderful in her role, but the movie is of course stolen by the 2 young leads who display a wonderfully natural talent in roles which could have been written for them. This take us back to more innocent times when young lads were more interested in cowboys than girls. I's particularly poignant that it is set amidst the tragic troubles which blighted Belfast for so long.In reply to the earlier reviewer wondering when it will be released on DVD I have some good news. Unlikely as it may seem it's just been released by Universal DVD Germany under the title 'Mickybo & Ich'. It's a Region 2 & 4 release with a variety of audio and subtitle choices. Should be easily available from Amazon.de.

Great movie, great acting, fantastically filmed. Sums up the paradox of growing up in Belfast in the early seventies, of wanting to just be a normal boy doing the things boys do but having everything else going on around you shaping how you should think. The way the boys dressed and spoke is spot on for the time. Most of the story though could be set anywhere about the two young boys wanting to escape, don't be put off because it has Northern Ireland accents or is locally made. Recommend to anyone, everything from the performances to the script is top class. I'm glad it stayed local and wasn't produced by an American studio who would have wanted to make it into a mushy totally family film. Can't wait to buy it on DVD, does anyone know when the release date is?

I made it my business to see this film on a recent brief visit to Dublin. I have no expectation that it will ever be released in the U.S. and more's the pity. It is quite charming and even clever. Using the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" story as a backdrop and not being obvious (to someone who is not from Northern Ireland) about which boy was the Catholic/Protestant. Nice performances from the grown-ups, in the background. One reviewer had a problem with the geography of the locations. That happens in so many movies that it's only a minor distraction anymore. This is a fun and charming family movie. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed it until I heard myself describing it to friends when I got back to the U.S. Well done Terry Loane and all involved.