I just watched this movie for the first time in at least 20 years, and to my pleasant surprise, it lived up to my fondest memories of it.
To be sure, there are flaws in the movie. I doubt that an autistic person with as severe a case of that disease as Eric would show so much response ... but then I suspect he was not truly autistic, but traumatized. A couple of scenes are cheesy or out of place (the dream sequence or the drinking scene in particular).
Still, it is a touching film. Outside of Eric, the characters are very real and you feel for them. You feel the Louie's frustration, and the mother's fear, and Milly's uncertainty, and Uncle Hugo's disappointment in himself.
Beyond that, the emotional touchstone is NOT Eric, and NOT the mystery surrounding him, but rather the struggle of the Michaelson's, and Milly in particular. Even before the dramatic conclusion, Milly has found hope through her relationship with Eric, and tries to share this the rest of her family. As the movie reaches it's (somewhat cheesy) conclusion, it feels good to see all the happy endings, but mostly feels good to see the characters with hope and optimism, regardless of the end result.
As a child I remembered having a mini-crush on Milly. As an adult, I totally understand why. She is a beautiful character, not just her looks (where she is very pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way), but her care for her brother, her mother, her neighbor. The strength she shows in trying to keep everything together when she feels like its falling apart. Her kindness. Her gentleness. Her love. What a wonderful character, and what a character so deserving of being saved.
Ultimately, the movie is very uplifting. It reaches beyond plausibility, but while the ending may have been necessary for some characters (Uncle Hugo), Milly had already grown into her happy ending, and I could feel her turning the tide for her mother and brother regardless. And much like the Shawshank Redemption delivers it's best line at the close, (MINOR SPOILER HERE)when Colleen Dewhurst says "Maybe if you dream hard enough and love long enough, anything is possible."
To be sure, there are flaws in the movie. I doubt that an autistic person with as severe a case of that disease as Eric would show so much response ... but then I suspect he was not truly autistic, but traumatized. A couple of scenes are cheesy or out of place (the dream sequence or the drinking scene in particular).
Still, it is a touching film. Outside of Eric, the characters are very real and you feel for them. You feel the Louie's frustration, and the mother's fear, and Milly's uncertainty, and Uncle Hugo's disappointment in himself.
Beyond that, the emotional touchstone is NOT Eric, and NOT the mystery surrounding him, but rather the struggle of the Michaelson's, and Milly in particular. Even before the dramatic conclusion, Milly has found hope through her relationship with Eric, and tries to share this the rest of her family. As the movie reaches it's (somewhat cheesy) conclusion, it feels good to see all the happy endings, but mostly feels good to see the characters with hope and optimism, regardless of the end result.
As a child I remembered having a mini-crush on Milly. As an adult, I totally understand why. She is a beautiful character, not just her looks (where she is very pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way), but her care for her brother, her mother, her neighbor. The strength she shows in trying to keep everything together when she feels like its falling apart. Her kindness. Her gentleness. Her love. What a wonderful character, and what a character so deserving of being saved.
Ultimately, the movie is very uplifting. It reaches beyond plausibility, but while the ending may have been necessary for some characters (Uncle Hugo), Milly had already grown into her happy ending, and I could feel her turning the tide for her mother and brother regardless. And much like the Shawshank Redemption delivers it's best line at the close, (MINOR SPOILER HERE)when Colleen Dewhurst says "Maybe if you dream hard enough and love long enough, anything is possible."