drpakmanrains
I first saw this film in 1983 on HBO, at age 42, and really loved everything about it: The scenery, the two leading child actors, the score, (which contrary to another reviewer, was beautiful), and the climax. I am not at all religious, and the story is very much Christian, but while I may not believe in dogma, the messages of this story, mainly forgiveness, are very well presented and very powerful and moving. As I have worked with struggling students my entire teaching career in the private sector, I have shown this film to many of my students, as well as friends and relatives and it is one of my 25 favorites of all time, out of about 2500 films seen, some scores of times, like this one. I have also now read the book, both the full paperback, as well as the picture book, and seen the full original Christian Film version with about 10 added minutes, but I prefer the HBO version most, because it is less preachy, and moves along faster, eliminating some unnecessary scenes and shortening others.The story is divided into two parts, the tragedy and resulting anger and attempts at revenge, and then the forgiving and making up and ultimately reversing the tragic consequences. To summarize the set-up, Lucien, who appears to be about 11, is humiliated by a slap from Annette, a classmate, over an argument in front of her little brother, Dani, who then laughs at him. Lucien can't get at her, so he decides to tease little Dani by threatening to throw his little kitten off a cliff. But when he holds the cat over the edge, Dani pinches him and he accidentally lets go and the kitten falls into a bush about 6 feet down. Dani instinctively goes down the cliff after the kitten, but loses his footing and falls about 50 feet. Hearing no sound from Dani, Lucien assumes he is dead. But rather than running to get help, he decides to not say anything and hides out near his house. Later, when Annette and her father and Grandmother realize Dani is missing, they begin searching and eventually find Lucien, who guiltily leads them to the cliff. It turns out Dani has suffered a severely broken leg but is not dead. Annette then goes on a vendetta to punish Lucien, and when it is determined the injury is likely permanent, she becomes obsessed with punishing him, at home, in school, everywhere. Meanwhile, Lucien has been befriended by an old mountain man who sells carvings in Geneva and who confides to Lucien that he once stole money from a bank he worked at and went to jail, destroying his wife and losing his family. Lucien has a talent for carving, and the school has an arts and crafts contest which Lucien would like to win to "show them". After Lucien carves a beautiful set of animals to give to Dani, Annette damages them. Her anger has made her worse than the person she is punishing. Then Annette injures herself in the snow, and Lucien helps her to get home, and the forgiveness begins. This leads to a beautiful climax and demonstrates that anger rarely accomplishes what atonement and cooperation can. The film is done in an old-fashioned style, and is supposed to take place around 1950, so today's audiences may find the film too slow and wholesome. The longer version can be purchased through Christian Books or Amazon. I don't know if the HBO version can be found anymore. The film's style is like "Hugo", which tended to appeal to very mature or academically advanced children, rather than the average kids who want action and excitement or animated features. But it's message is an important one, and if you can find a copy of the HBO version, I think it is a wonderful and worthwhile film to see, even repeatedly. Hopefully you will too. My rating: HBO version 10; Original version 8.
ksneath
Having read this book as a kid and never having seen the movie, I recently rented this with high expectations for a wholesome family film with beautiful characters and scenery.After seeing the film, I find it rather difficult to judge. It begs a balancing of the good and the bad.THE GOOD: The on-location scenery-- Beautiful shots of true Alpine mountains.The acting by the children, while not perfect, is above average. The kids act as kids would, not like Hollywood fantasy "little grown ups".The faithfulness to the story's main elements is commendable. The film also gets better near the end which helps save it somewhat.THE BAD: The terrible, distracting, synthesized music. A score should seamlessly blend with a film and add to the mood, whatever that may be. This film would be better suited without a soundtrack at all! The music is often intrusive, conveys moods opposite those of the story, and is terribly synthetic -- not the type of music you want for a traditional religious story that takes place in the majestic beauty of the Alps!The small families up in the Alps all seem to be living in gigantic, expansive, lodge-like cabins! This really cut the realism of the story for me and took away from the intimate setting of the circumstances.The acting, script, and character development of the elders in the film, especially the woodcarver and the grandmother is lacking.VERDICT: The thing that really holds this movie together is the underlying story by Patricia St. John. It is a powerful one with valuable lessons to children -- and adults as well. Without it, this film wouldn't have been watchable. With it, it holds interest despite numerous shortcomings. I give it a 7 out of 10 because of the unusual, powerful lessons it offers. Without the excellent basis from St. John, this could easily be a 4.
