Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

There are only so many ways that people can still be transported to fantasy worlds in a manner that we have not seen a billion times before, and still remain on board with the story. My examples: Dorothy and her tornado. Alice and that rabbit hole. Peter Pan and those lucky children he feels inclined to teach how to fly. Those means of travel are classic, and have been, at least to me, completely believable. Max (played by Max Records in the movie) and his journey fits right in with these timeless characters and lessons learned from imaginary lands.

Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are storybook was never really a staple of my bedtime hour during childhood, but I of course was aware of Max and his adventures in the book. I love how this new live-action re-telling of the story relies upon this classic tale of escape from ordinary life (in Max's case, a life filled with discipline for his wild ways), and fleshes out the basic premise in ways that you probably won't expect, but are refreshing to see.

This is a dark children's film, there is no doubt. It is rated PG, but contains much angst at the outset from 9 year old Max who is struggling to deal with a sister who is growing too old to play with him, a mom who has a new boyfriend and a father who is not present in the film, but whose absence is actually a driving force to Max's frustration and unbridled actions. This film will take you back as you watch it, to moments during your own childhood when you felt as Max feels in the opening scenes. It will remind you that yes, childhood contains simple joys, but there are also fears that we in our adulthood have long ago overcome.

Children, more so than adults will always say what they are thinking, and behave more in accordance with the whims of their feelings. This is what the Wild Things in the film are crafted to symbolically represent. Before Max escapes to the world of the Wild Things, his mother tells him: "You're out of control!" which haunts him for the rest of the film and makes him worry that he may not be a good person.

In the world of the Wild Things, Max meets Carol. Carol becomes a sort of friend to Max there, but even that seems to present its own dangers. Carol struck me as being symbolic of Max's uncontrolled emotions. When Max becomes king of the Wild Things, it is like he has let go of all restraint and lives only to do as he feels. Eventually, though, the Wild Things prove too wild for Max, and he finds himself the one yelling "You're out of control!" to them.

I highly recommend this movie, even for children if they of school age and are mature enough to deal with some of the themes. Below you will find my link to the parents' guide on imdb.com concerning this movie. Read it and decide for yourself and your children if it is right for you!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386117/parentalguide

-Dani

Sin Nombre (2009)

I really love having this blog when I come across films like this one. I do not believe it is one that many people have heard of, let alone seen. It was the winner of the New Director's Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the winner of both the Cinematography and Directing Awards at the Sundance Film Festival. I couldn't agree more that it is deserving of these honors.

This is director, Cary Fukunagra's very first film, and though it is dark, dreary and violent, there is a hope to the film, and its theme is one of redemption.

Honduran teen Sayra is making the perilous journey through Mexico toward the United States with her father who shares her dream of a free life there. They move along the path of the illegal immigrant, fearing border patrol officers and riding on north-bound trains whose cars are topped by people we as Americans have been taught by our society to resent, but suddenly sympathize with when we see them onscreen.

We next meet Casper, a young Mexican gang member who appears to take this membership none too seriously, and finally faces a deciding moment in his life when his girlfriend, (whose importance he has been putting before his gang duties) is killed by his gang's leader. Filled afterwards with a hate for his gang, Casper steps in at the moment in the movie when he finally crosses paths with Sayra, and saves her from a grim fate, consequently ending his brotherhood with the gang by ending the life of their leader.

Afterwards, Casper and Sayra's journeys are forever intertwined and they struggle against the odds to evade the shadows of their past and the obstacles that stand between them and the border.

This movie is realistic in a documentary sort of way, but also fantastically epic in its setting and situations. Many aspects of it were reminiscent to me of Slumdog Millionaire, such as the fairy tale vibe with a modern day setting. Please, though, do not get the wrong impression from me about this film when I say "fairy tale vibe". This is no Disney movie, and is rated R for its violence and sexual situations. I think of fairy tales as being stories that have the meat stripped off the bones until they are solid lessons on our morality. I really love the simplicity of that, and the strength of the archetype characters that remain. This film has that quality, and I highly recommend that you see it for yourself to understand fully what I mean. It is mythic, but also disturbingly true to life. I loved it.

- Dani