Son of Rambow

The Son of Rambow
PG-13
Runtime: 96 minutes
UK

I really wanted to see this film up at Sundance this year but wasn't able to. A few friends of mine went to the Broadway last night and checked it out and, I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed. It centers around a young boy named Will Proudfoot who has no friends and an overactive imagination. He also belongs to a cult called The Brotherhood which, as is apparent fairly early in the film, believes that imagination isn't something that should be explored or dealt with.

Will's character is contrasted by the school outcast, Lee Carter, who is constantly being thrown out of class and finds trouble at every turn. He pirates movies by sitting in the theater and recording them with a video camera which leads to a chance encounter with Will, allowing them to combine forces and make a short film called "The Son of Rambow."

The movie deals with some interesting topics (i.e. close friendships, the roles of parental figures, brother/sister bonds, popularity, defining art, etc.), sometimes subtly and other times not so subtly. Luckily, the superb acting from the young cast kept me from feeling manipulated or forced into believing something I didn't agree with. It was shot in rural France, Germany and the UK and has some beautiful backdrops and locations. The stylized animation sequences reminded me of a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and The Life Aquatic but maintained the identity that the director intended...tough to pull off but he did. All in all, I walked away feeling like I had received a quick lesson on relationships from a skilled teacher who kept me interested, start to finish. Go check it out...you won't be disappointed.