tinant It was lovely to encounter this movie. For once it was a nice light film without the intensity even a lot of family films are these days. While it was light it was just poignant enough to make it interesting. I liked the anti-bullying message in it as well. Sam Worthington was excellent as a father struggling with depression after the death of his wife. Young Oxenbould did a good job as well. The scenes in Japan were idyllic and the whole film had a kind of magical feel. This is a good film to watch with the family or if you are in the mood for a pleasant non -jarring film. I enjoyed the real yet slightly surreal atmosphere of the movie as well. It was realist and yet with a touch of magic realism as well. Overall a good Aussie family film!

david-rector-85092 Just when you thought there were no new rite of passage stories to tell? Along comes 'Paper Planes'. This is a well made, textured tale which is deceptively simple in approach, but with much to say about grief, loss, peer pressure, ambition, ego and pride. Ostensibly this is a film about folding pieces of paper and making them fly far!!!! It is about so much more. Director and Co-writer Robert Connolly has made some serious movies in his career including Balibo, The Bank and as Producer of the award winning The Boys and Romulus my Father. This foray into filmmaking, looks on paper, pardon the pun, as a softer option, but at a closer inspection, there are as I've outlined some weightier themes. The film and its success do rest on 2 ingredients: 1 The terrific visual effects that allow both the paper planes and the films narrative to take flight. 2 The casting and performance of Ed Oxenbould in the leading role. With acting parents and an uncle who was a child star of film and television, 12 year old Ed has racked up 3 major film roles within a 12 month period - in two Hollywood features and this Australian production. Ed has such intelligence and sensitivity on screen, and yet he never appears inauthentic or tryhard; difficult when in virtually every scene and required to act off some pretty heavy hitting screen partners: Sam Worthington, Deb Mailman and veteran Terry Norris. In some scenes Ed seemed like a boy; in others as a young man, the timing of shooting is critical when filming a story about a rite of passage into manhood and especially when the narrative carries grief and loss as well in that mix. Big things are predicted for this young actor.There are some broadly sketched characters, and some (David Wenham's sport star and Dad to the movie's villain) are underwritten. Other reviewers have commented on Sam Worthington's moping father routine, but I thought he carried it pretty well; a point of difference to his usual strident and big character roles. At the end of the day, this is the young man's story as he finds an expression for his energies and for his own losses. It is that which lifts this movie above just being a family friendly film about aiming for the sky and hoping to win. It also points to the degree that society and our kids have lost touch with the simple things. The symbolism of paper planes for a bygone era resonated with this baby boomer. It is the astute writing and naturalistic performance by the lead, that elevate this into something more significant about growing up, the importance of loyalty and mateship and the mantra of never giving up. I'm really pleased this movie has found an audience and will long be remembered, even with all the paper folding.

fordmodelt Ford I really wanted to like this movie. The premise is good but the execution was just terrible. Considering that some big names such as Sam Worthington, David Wenham, Deborah Mailman and Eric Bana (producing) were attached to it, I really thought we were in for a sweet, unpretentious kids movie. Happy to forgive the plot holes and the flight of fantasy sequence between the boy and his grandfather, but the dialogue was so poorly written it became just tedious in the end. I could have done a better job writing it, frankly. The young boy who stars in the movie just isn't a strong enough actor to carry it, at least not with the dialogue he was given to work with. Aussies can pull off some good, strong, well- scripted movies, but the weak ones like this one just pull the average right down.

Amna Bakhtiar Paper Planes is a great movie for all ages really. I as an adult really liked it. The cast is quite great and the children in the movie are completely not obnoxious. The lead of the movie (Ed Oxenbould, who happened to be at the movie's premier at TIFF along with other cast members) was terrific. The story moves at a very good pace so you don't zone out. The story itself is not very complex which is a bonus point. Western Australia is captured nicely here, you really get a feel for what life there is like. This movie could have been a major tearjerker but I'm glad there are strong elements of humour and lightheartedness. It feels 'real' despite being a movie about incredible paper planes! I definitely recommend this movie.