Pelle the Poet Reviews

Wide Awake (1998)

A feel-good comedy from an emerging storyteller - almost a masterpiece.

[10/10 · 27 November 1999]

"Wide Awake" tells the story of young 'My name is Joshua A. Beal. I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I go to Walton Academy, Catholic school for boys ... don't laugh' (played with great feeling and sensitivity by Joseph Kross), and his quest to find meaning after the death of his beloved grandfather. 'Know what? This mission could take days...'

Told with warmth and humour -- under the beautiful direction of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan -- this film explores life's universal questions by gently pushing the boundaries while remaining safe at the same time. Issues of pain, heartbreak, and loss are explored with compassion and tenderness. Though it may be too slow or 'good' for some, "Wide Awake" is my style of comedy.

However, "Wide Awake" isn't really a comedy in the same sense that Shyamalan's subsequent film "The Sixth Sense", also dealing with matters spiritual, isn't really a horror. They have a deeper, more noble depth to them that can't be expressed with mere labels. They compliment each other nicely.

Mr. Shyamalan -- you are indeed 'wide awake'.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

A feel-good horror from an emerging master storyteller -- a masterpiece.

[10/10 · 26 November 1999]

"The Sixth Sense" tells the story of the young tormented boy Cole Sear (played superbly by Haley Joel Osment), child psychologist Dr. Crowe (played by Bruce Willis in for me the best performance of his career to date), and Cole's fiercely loyal mother Lynn (played by Australian Toni Collette). I happened to catch Osment in an episode of "Walker: Texas Ranger" shortly before seeing this film. He was a few years younger in that but his acting was uncannily affecting for such an unintelligent television program (its not surprising he was nominated for a Young Artists award for his performance). He stole the show in that, as he did in this. Everyone seemed to be commenting after the film on how good 'the kid' was -- including me. I'd hazard a guess to say that he's one child actor who will maintain a strong acting career throughout his adolescence and into adulthood.

Told with genuine tension -- hats off to the writer/director M. Night Shyamalan -- occasionally you'll jump in your seat, a chill will run down your spine, and the hair on the back of your neck may even stand up. The final dénouement was superb (and that's all I'll say about that). In a word (or three), a must see. "The Sixth Sense" is without doubt one of the best films I have seen for a long, long time.

If you loved this film, check out Shyamalan's previous film "Wide Awake", a feel-good comedy, also dealing with the spiritual.

Mr. Shyamalan -- you are a master storyteller.

My Father's Glory (1990)

A heart-warming celebration of the joys of boyhood -- a masterpiece.

[10/10 · 25 November 1999]

Based on the childhood memoirs of the acclaimed French director Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974), "My Father's Glory" (La Gloire de mon père) & "My Mother's Castle" (Le Château de ma mère) recount the magical holidays spent by the young Marcel (played to great affect by Julien Ciamaca), a boy from the city, in the breathtakingly beautiful hills of the Provençal countryside (now I know what inspired the 12th Century Provençal poets like Arnaut Daniel: 'I'll have my joy in garden or in chamber' ... from "Lo Ferm Voler " as translated by Ezra Pound).

Set just after at the turn of century and before World War I -- when God was still up in Heaven (though not for Marcel's atheist/rationalist teacher father) and all was well with the world -- these two films (though in effect it is essentially one film, in two parts) lovingly re-create Pagnol's innocent boyhood and family life in an 'innocent' time.

Told with genuine warmth and humour, in a charming meandering series of vignettes and epiphanies, Marcel Pagnol -- through the outstanding direction of Yves Robert -- reaches out and enfolds the viewer in a deep, welcoming armchair of a story. In fact, the films have the same capacity to produce that wistfully satisfied sigh, as did the original memoirs. You'll wish his childhood had been your own.

If you love these films, I guarantee, you will adore the book. If my house was burning down and I could only choose one book to save, I would grab Marcel Pagnol's "My Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle" in a heartbeat. As the blurb on the back of the book says: 'The Prousts and Sartres may be admired, but Pagnol is loved' (TIME LITERARY SUPPLEMENT) -- at least by me.

Mr. Pagnol -- thankyou for sharing.