A Bridge to Fantasy
I’m not always a fan of Disney movies.
It’s true that I enjoyed films like the Great Mouse Detective, The Lady and the Tramp and a few others far and between. But mostly, I’m not one for mushiness and sappy stories. Plus I don’t have the added advantage of taking my own children to such movies. Since I don’t have kids to begin with.
The wrong attitude to take when venturing to see a fine film like Bridge to Terabithia.
Which is why it took me so eternally long to finally sit down and view the film. I’ll remind myself to shoot myself in my sleep.
This is the kind of movie that director Terry Gilliam wanted to make for some time. A film that explores the thin line between fantasy and reality, where you can enter into a lively stronghold of imagination. A child’s greatest gift is always the creativity. It is when they are most focused… they like to make things up. It’s what they do. Therefore their imagination could become very powerful.
Almost too real.
Gilliam might want to sit back and take notes when seeing this film. His last effort into filmmaking had been lacking for some reason. Which is too bad. Because Gilliam is one of my favorite directors. He tried to dig deeper into the pocket of a child’s imagination. The film turned out to be a mess.
But Bridge of Terabithia lures us into a nostalgic, wonderfully realized setting of alien worlds that exist outside of our boring world of work and responsibility. This is a place where children could roam free of their usual lives and find different roles in other, thought-out places. This is what we used to do as children. We imagined. We believed in other worlds that seemed far more dazzling, interesting than the one we’re living in.
The writing remains sensitive as it touches on the matters of the fantastic without going overboard. You can feel as those you can catch a glimpse of it without looking too fast. There’s a sweetness to the writing that does affect you emotionally. You do end up caring for some of the people here.
Part of the film works due to the excellent acting provided by youngster actors such as Josh Hutcherson and singer/actress Annashophia Robb. Both performances are convincing. And they help us to believe in their world they were creating in a mystical world of the forest and the earthbound creatures that come to life to either threaten or aid the children in their quest to keep a peace between them.
Some scenes between the forest and the school continue that thin line of illusion, trading real places for imaginary ones. Real people in this world appear in some other shape or form. It becomes a secret landscape filled with ogres and trolls, other childlike creatures that thrive beneath the shades of bliss and beauty in the woods.
Most importantly, there is a deepening friendship between the characters played by Hutcherson and Robb. It is far more real than the magical kingdom that they reigned with royal power. Their friendship is what holds them together. It is that friendship that continues to progress through the film. They’re both outsiders. They both like to create things on paper or in thought. They like to escape the emptiness of their day-to-day lives in an attempt to bring about something personal. They don’t care much for being bullies by cruel children and hate facing the sores of their family life.
So they want to make a different place for themselves where they feel safe and comfortable.
So private are their thoughts that they don’t share it with anyone else. Not even to their families.
Robb has a warm and captivating beauty about her that seems to give a supernatural glow. And beneath all that exterior is a gentle soul that speaks soothingly.
Which makes the ending far more sadder.
I’m not going to give away the ending like a schmuck. But it does affect everyone in the film. The pivotal plot of the film changes the main characters and the supporting characters to greater degrees. Hutcherson’s father in the movie is played by enigmatic Robert Patrick. Who you might’ve seen before playing the advanced killer robot in Terminator 2 and a long-running stint towards the end of the X-Files. His character sees changes through the film too starting from a negligent parent into one who shows some deeper emotion.
Based on a novel by Katherine Paterson who deservedly won the Newberry Medal award for her stark portrayal of children at the peak of their vulnerability and innocence. She seems to know how to write children. Her writing bleeds with a kind of remarkable calmness as it makes us feel ten, twenty or even forty years younger.
Yes, it’s a family movie with the most Disney themes stuffed into it. But this one does have a surprising message to it. And it enables us not to take things for granted in life. Because we do only have one life and might as well make the most of it. Since we’ll never know if tomorrow comes for us.
It’s true that I enjoyed films like the Great Mouse Detective, The Lady and the Tramp and a few others far and between. But mostly, I’m not one for mushiness and sappy stories. Plus I don’t have the added advantage of taking my own children to such movies. Since I don’t have kids to begin with.
The wrong attitude to take when venturing to see a fine film like Bridge to Terabithia.
Which is why it took me so eternally long to finally sit down and view the film. I’ll remind myself to shoot myself in my sleep.
This is the kind of movie that director Terry Gilliam wanted to make for some time. A film that explores the thin line between fantasy and reality, where you can enter into a lively stronghold of imagination. A child’s greatest gift is always the creativity. It is when they are most focused… they like to make things up. It’s what they do. Therefore their imagination could become very powerful.
Almost too real.
Gilliam might want to sit back and take notes when seeing this film. His last effort into filmmaking had been lacking for some reason. Which is too bad. Because Gilliam is one of my favorite directors. He tried to dig deeper into the pocket of a child’s imagination. The film turned out to be a mess.
But Bridge of Terabithia lures us into a nostalgic, wonderfully realized setting of alien worlds that exist outside of our boring world of work and responsibility. This is a place where children could roam free of their usual lives and find different roles in other, thought-out places. This is what we used to do as children. We imagined. We believed in other worlds that seemed far more dazzling, interesting than the one we’re living in.
The writing remains sensitive as it touches on the matters of the fantastic without going overboard. You can feel as those you can catch a glimpse of it without looking too fast. There’s a sweetness to the writing that does affect you emotionally. You do end up caring for some of the people here.
Part of the film works due to the excellent acting provided by youngster actors such as Josh Hutcherson and singer/actress Annashophia Robb. Both performances are convincing. And they help us to believe in their world they were creating in a mystical world of the forest and the earthbound creatures that come to life to either threaten or aid the children in their quest to keep a peace between them.
Some scenes between the forest and the school continue that thin line of illusion, trading real places for imaginary ones. Real people in this world appear in some other shape or form. It becomes a secret landscape filled with ogres and trolls, other childlike creatures that thrive beneath the shades of bliss and beauty in the woods.
Most importantly, there is a deepening friendship between the characters played by Hutcherson and Robb. It is far more real than the magical kingdom that they reigned with royal power. Their friendship is what holds them together. It is that friendship that continues to progress through the film. They’re both outsiders. They both like to create things on paper or in thought. They like to escape the emptiness of their day-to-day lives in an attempt to bring about something personal. They don’t care much for being bullies by cruel children and hate facing the sores of their family life.
So they want to make a different place for themselves where they feel safe and comfortable.
So private are their thoughts that they don’t share it with anyone else. Not even to their families.
Robb has a warm and captivating beauty about her that seems to give a supernatural glow. And beneath all that exterior is a gentle soul that speaks soothingly.
Which makes the ending far more sadder.
I’m not going to give away the ending like a schmuck. But it does affect everyone in the film. The pivotal plot of the film changes the main characters and the supporting characters to greater degrees. Hutcherson’s father in the movie is played by enigmatic Robert Patrick. Who you might’ve seen before playing the advanced killer robot in Terminator 2 and a long-running stint towards the end of the X-Files. His character sees changes through the film too starting from a negligent parent into one who shows some deeper emotion.
Based on a novel by Katherine Paterson who deservedly won the Newberry Medal award for her stark portrayal of children at the peak of their vulnerability and innocence. She seems to know how to write children. Her writing bleeds with a kind of remarkable calmness as it makes us feel ten, twenty or even forty years younger.
Yes, it’s a family movie with the most Disney themes stuffed into it. But this one does have a surprising message to it. And it enables us not to take things for granted in life. Because we do only have one life and might as well make the most of it. Since we’ll never know if tomorrow comes for us.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:40 AM
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