pmeisels
I wish that I had been able to view this movie before my divorce. Perhaps I would have been better able to understand what my children were going through instead of just the pain of loss, fear, anger, and confusion that they certainly must have felt.We as adults must learn to understand that our children too have feelings and need to be heard as well as understood when we as adults go about changing their lives without first doing everything to keep our families intact.This movie through the eyes and voice of a silent child was insightful and and I think that every adult should view it before going about destroying their lives as well as the lives of their children.
Juanita-3
I was very interested in the premise of the story as described on the cover...that a young girl, without the words to express what she feels, becomes convinced of the uselessness of words and stops talking. I think this is brilliant! (I often wonder what is in my own children's minds when they stare off in silence.)However, I was quite unimpressed with the story's unfolding. I was left feeling rather annoyed by the abundant use of voice over which spoiled the whole idea of her silence for me. I wanted to see things as she saw them and feel the tension that only silence can create but instead I was assaulted by a constant stream of interpretations and explanations that were already there in the action or in her beautifully expressive face.While the child actors were usually very engaging, I found it difficult to reconcile the erratic speech patterns as written, especially in the adults, with an interpretation of the world from the young girl's point of view.In all, I was disappointed. Such a wonderful premise but such poor writing and character development.Deep sigh.
Mad-Scientist
I was glad to notice a movie by Rolf de Heer in the TV guide, since I really liked his "Bad Boy Bubby". But this was a totally different movie. It's about a girl who decides not to speak to her parents anymore to get them closer together since their marriage is not what it once was. But what I really wanted to point out is the use of colors in this movie.I didn't see it at first but there are two main colors used to indicate the mood of the people. Blue points out a very sad mood, whereas red points out the opposite, happiness. Notice the extremely red sweater the girl is suddenly wearing near the end of the movie...
Eljay-3
This movie opened my eyes and got me down to a 7 year old's level. Actually I should say up to a 7 year old's level, in this movie the adults seemed more childish than the child!It was great to see life in a not so harmonious household from the child's point of view! So many things I've heard myself say to my own child, the mother in the film said and I swear I will always think before speaking to my kids!It's a very original and thought provoking movie - I recommend it to everyone!
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