Publicerat av lucas4you den juni 21, 2009
How about a review of a US Hollywood production? Well, this flick from 1970 represents an era in which there were a little more freedom in the American film industry. A film like ”Hornets nest” would never have been produced in the US today, but could well have been so in for example Italy or Spain. It´s a pity that the best films produced in the US today concerning anything about the genre of coming of age are films like for example ”Dog days of summer”, ”Hotel for dogs” and similar rather lame productions. I know that there are exceptions, but they are few. The story of the film takes place in Italy during the WWII. An American parachute soldier (Rock Hudson) is shoot down by the German troops and rescued by a group of orphaned boys (and one girl) of about 11-13 years old, and taken to their isolated camp in the forest. During the following night they force a female doctor (Sylva Koscina) to go to the camp and help the soldier. After he recovers he gets on with his mission to blow up a dam, thus intending to flood the German military base located downstreams. However this task isn´t so easy to accomplish without involving the kids in the operation, something the doctor is strongly against. Underneath the main story there is the psychological drama of the orphaned children having to have witnessed the shooting of their parents in the beginning of the film. This use of multiple layers in the story, makes it deeper than many US films, that many times have difficulties in getting a single thread going. The children in the film are beautifully acted by very talented boys.
Photo: *****(excellent)
Acting: ****(very good)
Story: ****(very good)
Soundtrack: **(below average)
Total: ****(very good)
The boys:
Aldo (Mark Colleano)
Carlo (Mauro Gravina)
Dino (John Fordyce)
Franco (Giuseppe Cassuto)
Tonio (Amedeo Castracane)
Romeo (Giancarlo Colombaioni)
Mikko (Ronald Colombaioni)
Arturo (Valerio Colombaioni)
Rico (Giuseppe Coppola)
Paolo (Luigi Criscuolo)
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC. I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of “Hornets nest” .
Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!
Publicerat i US film, coming of age/preteen boy, coming of age/teenage boy, orphan, restricted/nudity, restricted/violence, war | 2 kommentarer »
Publicerat av lucas4you den juni 14, 2009
Another Russian coming of age film, this one from 1989, where you sometimes in the dialogue can sense the fall of the Soviet union, even if the film is pre-perestrojka. Like most other Russian coming of age films, this one is also of high class, with excellent performances from for example the thirteen year old boy (played by Danya Tolkachev), but also from the other characters. The story is well written and the soundtrack quiet ok, especially towards the end. The film is about a boy who gets imprisoned after having attending a street riot on his way to the cinemas. We will then follow his days in prison, which can be a harsh place to be at his age.
* Country: Soviet Union
* Release: 1989
* Director: Oleg Kavun
* Actors: Danya Tolkachev
* Award: Promotional award, Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema
Photo: *****(excellent)
Acting: ****(very good)
Story: ****(very good)
Soundtrack: ***(good)
Total: ****(very good)
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC. I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of “Lessons at the end of spring” .
Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!
Publicerat i Russian film, coming of age, prison, teenage boy, violence | 2 kommentarer »
Publicerat av lucas4you den juni 14, 2009
A Danish coming of age film about two friends, Dennis and Mick, who are in love with the same girl. Dennis´mother is still in grief after Dennis late father, and is not much of support, meaning that Dennis must take care of himself and has no grown up to talk to about his problems. One day an angel appears, could it be Dennis´father? If Dennis wants to, he can get a pair of angel wings and magic powers to change things around him to the better. But he must promise not to swear. (If you recognise the story, you have probably watched ”Gabriel and me” , 2001, it´s almost the same plot).
* Country: Denmark
* Release: 2000
* Director: Natasha Arty
* Actors: Stefan Pagels Andersen (Dennis), Sebastian Jessen (Mick)
* Awards: Buster´s grand prix, Buster International Children’s Film Festival, AGIS Gold medal+Bronze Gryphon, Giffoni Film Festival, Award of the city of Zlin+Children´s Jury main prize, Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth.
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC. I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of “Mirakel” .
Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!
Photo: ****(very good)
Acting: ****(very good)
Story: ***(good)
Soundtrack: **(below average)
Total: ****(very good)
Publicerat i Danish film, coming of age, preteen boy | 1 kommentar »
Publicerat av lucas4you den juni 13, 2009
It feels rather unusual to review a coming of age film from Malaysia, but this film from 2007 was no disappointment. This is a great Asian film about two boys, Li Ahn and Li Ohm. Throughout the film the main focus is on the lives of the two brothers, when they are in school, meeting new friends and so on. It took a while before I realised that they actually lived with their father, who mostly is at work and just come home to sleep what it seems. The boys have to manage themselves pretty much, even though they´re a bit too young for that. However later on in the film we´ll follow some new development of the relationship with their absent father.
* Country: Malaysia
* Release: 2007
* Director: Liew Seng Tat
* Actors: Zi Jiang Wong (Li Ohm), Ming Wei Lim (Li Ahn)
* Award: Tiger Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival (2008)
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC. I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of “Flowers in the pocket” .
Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!
Photo: ***** (excellent)
Acting: ***(good)
Story: ***(good)
Soundtrack: **(below average)
Total: ****(very good)
Publicerat i Asian film, coming of age, preteen boy | 1 kommentar »
Publicerat av lucas4you den juni 6, 2009
IMDb. A Polish social drama from 1981, set in the 1950s during the communist era. The Stalinist mentality, here being constantly present, gives the films from the Eastern Europe a special coming of age atmosphere not found in other films. This story begins in a small town somewhere in Poland, where we encounter Tomek, living with his parents and little brother. One day his father is arrested for political reasons, and the very next day Tomek is chosen among his schoolmates to be among those who will go to a youth camp. We will then follow the events that take place during this period. It´s interesting to see how current political issues and beliefs are integrated into the minds of these young boys and it makes you wonder what beliefs are taken for granted today. I think this is a very nicely written coming of age story. It is well directed, it´s a good story, full of good acting, and with a much better photo than I even can show you by a few screen shots. You will not get disappointed if you see this film.
Release date: 23 November 1981
Country: Poland
Director: Wojciech Marczewski
Genre: Drama
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC . I would like to thank them for supporting my blog by providing the DVD of ”Dreszcze” .
Check out lots of other coming of age films at cvmc.net, the oldest movie rental service on the internet – since 1998. Specializing in hard to find & rare films from around the world!
Photo: *****(excellent)
Acting: *****(excellent)
Story: ***(good)
Soundtrack: ***(good)
Total: ****(very good)
Publicerat i coming of age | 6 kommentarer »
