Hornets nest, 1970

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!

Jacquot

An irresistible portrait of the artist as a young boy, Jacquot is director Agnes Varda´s touching tribute to her late husband, visionary director Jacques Demy. Fro an early age, little Jacques, known as ”Jacquot”, is in love with the movies. Starting with puppet shows in his family´s garage, he begins his quest to become a filmmaker. At the age of seven, against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied France, Jacquot trades his toys for his first movie camera. Whether dressing the neighborhood boys as women for his first feature, or experimenting with animation on old Charlie Chaplin footage, Jacquot is a boy obsessed with the possibilities of movies. Inter-cut with these loving memories of childhood are scenes of Demy´s later films, showing the extraordinary way in which life influenced his works.

Interesting enough is also the combination of color and black-and-white shootage throughout the film, and the scenes where we meet the old Jacques (I suppose it´s the original and not an actor). In those scenes, which are sometimes interrupting other scenes of the much younger Jacquot, it´s shown very clear (in a way I think is on purpose) how time and aging make the natural beauty of the young human body disappear. Beauty unfortunately disappears very fast in life, and later on all we have left are memories of our youth.

There is also a short scene where the young Jacquot and a neighborhood boy take a girl up to the attic and undress completely in her presence. I suppose those are quiet normal things boys sometimes do when they´re growing up, but it certainly has to be a French movie to show it to the rest of the world.

          

The Island On Bird Street

In this film from 1998, we´ll follow the 11-year-old Jewish boy Alex, who is trying to survive the German Nazis during World War II. Living in a Polish ghetto with his father and great-uncle, Alex manages to hide inside the remains of a collapsed building when the troops come to clear the ghetto. Now he has to manage on his own, with his pet mouse Snow as the only friend. This is a very well made, sad and haunting film, that is based on a true story. The photo is excellent, and Jordan Kiziuk, who is playing Alex, is doing a great performance here.  

The Perfect Circle (Savrseni Krug)

Released in 1997, this first Bosnian film after the war is a poetic masterpiece according to the presentation on the DVD-cover. In a village near Sarajevo, seven-year-old Adis (Almedin Leleta) and nine-year-old Kerim (Almir Podgorica) lose their parents in a massacre, and find rescue in downtown Sarajevo in the home of the alcoholic poet Hamza (Mustafa Nadarevic). The two brothers dream about peace but their hopes and dreams are often interrupted by the bombings and the need to search for something to eat. Though Hamza in the beginning is rather hesitating and not willing to take responsibility for the orphan boys, he soon becomes a father-figure for them. This film is in my opinion really a ”poetic masterpiece” and shows with cruel realism the fate of civilians during wartime. The photo is also very good. I would like to recommend this film.

The Devil´s Backbone

From 2001 comes this Spanish film about some boys in a school camp during the civil war. It´s also a ghoststory with many similarities to the Asian film ”Dorm”. Nicely shot and well acted, but rather violent, with escalating tension towards the end. Twelve-year-old Carlos is the latest arrival to Santa Lucia school and is as the rest of the kids an orphan and victim of the war. Carlos gradually uncovers the dark secrets resting behind the walls. But will it be to late?

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Fernando Tielve (Carlos)

Rating:Restricted: For violence,Language and some sexuality.

Trying to escape the ghost. Will he succeed?

 

This is a violent film. Rating:Restricted.

Edges Of The Lord

Haley Joel Osment (Secondhand Lions, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Sixth Sense) and Willem Dafoe (The Aviator, Spider-Man1&2) star in ”Edges Of The Lord”, an inspiring and enthralling story that´s seen through the eyes of a child. To escape an unthinkable fate, a young Jewish boy´s parents send him to the countryside. And that´s when his adventure begins. Spirited away from the Nazi-occupied city in a gunnysack, he´s taken in by a kind village farmer with children of his own, masquerades as the farmer´s nephew and is coached by the parish priest (Dafoe).

Filled with outstanding performances and brilliantly written, this triumphant film is sure to capture your heart.

Director: Yurek Bogayevicz

Cast:

-Haley Joel Osment (Romek)

-Willem Dafoe (Priest)

Year: 2001

Country of origin: USA/Poland

Filmography Haley Joel Osment:

Pictures from ”Edges of the Lord”:

Au Revoir Les Enfants

Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss between two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy camaraderie- until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Louis Malle´s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

The film has received numerous awards and was nominated for two Oscars in 1988.