A Monster Calls (2017)
I’ve intensely disliked family-oriented fantasies dealing with the inevitability of death which might be because they become too self-important or because they attempt to underline a significance that just doesn’t seem to be there.
I would not recommend something like Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) to anyone, much less a small child, and while I could say the same of the theatrical version of Bridge to Terabithia (2007) I don’t recall having the same antipathy to its earlier, television adaptation.
I don’t mind films that deal with mortality, after all, aren’t most Horror films exactly this? Horror is a particular favorite genre of mine.
It might be its focus which made me not mind A Monster Calls. Yes, there is an inevitable death which is at the center of it all, and there is also a resistance to accepting it. But there is also a very realistic and natural desire for an end of pain.
It might be this honesty which made all the difference.
A young boy is visited nightly by a gigantic monster who tells him he will be told three stories (in a moment which loosely resembles A Christmas Carol,) after which a fourth story will need to be told, except the last time will be the boy’s turn to tell it.
The stories are told in animated form, turning the feature into something of an anthology of sorts, except the wraparound segments still dominate the short tales.
I would hazard to guess that there is something of a Studio Ghibli influence as the basics somewhat resemble Tonari no Totoro (1988) with its own forest spirit and ailing mother, but while that is all light, life, and summer magic, this is its dark opposite.
The giant also resembles creature design from Mononoke-hime (1997) and such, but at the same time has that generic look a lot of contemporary creature design has, (LOTR, Marvel movies, etc.)
If you must insist on showing a movie to a kid because you want to address the subject, this is the best one I’ve seen so far, though as I’ve said, on the whole I much prefer how most Horror handles the subject of death. When there is disease, yes one can ready oneself for it, but that's not always the case; sometimes it's sudden, brutal, and there are no lessons or morals involved in the process.
With Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Lewis MacDougall, and Liam Neeson.
Check it out.
I’ve intensely disliked family-oriented fantasies dealing with the inevitability of death which might be because they become too self-important or because they attempt to underline a significance that just doesn’t seem to be there.
I would not recommend something like Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) to anyone, much less a small child, and while I could say the same of the theatrical version of Bridge to Terabithia (2007) I don’t recall having the same antipathy to its earlier, television adaptation.
I don’t mind films that deal with mortality, after all, aren’t most Horror films exactly this? Horror is a particular favorite genre of mine.
It might be its focus which made me not mind A Monster Calls. Yes, there is an inevitable death which is at the center of it all, and there is also a resistance to accepting it. But there is also a very realistic and natural desire for an end of pain.
It might be this honesty which made all the difference.
A young boy is visited nightly by a gigantic monster who tells him he will be told three stories (in a moment which loosely resembles A Christmas Carol,) after which a fourth story will need to be told, except the last time will be the boy’s turn to tell it.
The stories are told in animated form, turning the feature into something of an anthology of sorts, except the wraparound segments still dominate the short tales.
I would hazard to guess that there is something of a Studio Ghibli influence as the basics somewhat resemble Tonari no Totoro (1988) with its own forest spirit and ailing mother, but while that is all light, life, and summer magic, this is its dark opposite.
The giant also resembles creature design from Mononoke-hime (1997) and such, but at the same time has that generic look a lot of contemporary creature design has, (LOTR, Marvel movies, etc.)
If you must insist on showing a movie to a kid because you want to address the subject, this is the best one I’ve seen so far, though as I’ve said, on the whole I much prefer how most Horror handles the subject of death. When there is disease, yes one can ready oneself for it, but that's not always the case; sometimes it's sudden, brutal, and there are no lessons or morals involved in the process.
With Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Lewis MacDougall, and Liam Neeson.
Check it out.
statistics: Posted by hermanthegerm — 38 minutes ago — Replies 0 — Views 14