Little Boy

Name: Little Boy
Genre: Drama, Comedy, War
Released: April 24, 2015
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 30
Cast: Ben Chaplin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, David Henrie, Eduardo Verástegui, Emily Watson

2015

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Ratings

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Little Boy

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Movie Details & Credits

Open Road Films | Release Date: April 24, 2015 | PG-13

Starring: Ben Chaplin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, David Henrie, Eduardo Verástegui, Emily Watson, Jakob Salvati, Kevin James, Michael Rapaport, Tom Wilkinson

Summary: A seven-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to bring his father back from World War II.

Director: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, War

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 106 min

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Critic Reviews

Rex Reed

Apr 22, 2015

There is a lot to admire here. Writer-director Alejandro Monteverde (Bella) is not afraid to take his time letting you get to know the characters or moving things along, but the movie never seems ponderous. Read full review

Stephen Farber

Apr 6, 2015

What makes it intermittently palatable even to non-believers is that it acknowledges some of the darker truths of the era. Read full review

Walter Addiego

Apr 23, 2015

The film has a good cast, and is competently made in a plain-vanilla way, but its greatest appeal will be to those who share its endorsement of traditional religious values. Read full review

Peter Keough

Apr 23, 2015

The film is so bizarre, contrived, manipulative, and meretricious that anything is possible. Read full review

Robert Abele

Apr 23, 2015

It's all simplistic sermonizing in director and co-writer Alejandro Monteverde's hands, devoid of any thoughtful messiness about wartime mind-sets or family despair, and quick to sand any edges with postcard-pretty coastal town vistas and cutesy music cues. Read full review

Kyle Smith

Apr 22, 2015

Though Wilkinson gives an atypically restrained performance that lends the movie its best moments, and Watson manages to breathe a little life into her underwritten character, the movie is hopelessly simple-minded, with corny fantasy sequences, slathered-on folksiness and a plot twist that it would take a miracle of self-delusion not to see coming. Read full review

Alan Scherstuhl

Apr 23, 2015

Examinations of faith on film don't have to be noxious. Read full review

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User Reviews

SeanWolfington

Apr 27, 2015

Extraordinary film! We brought my mother and our 4 kids and everyone loved it. It is funny, moving and deeply inspiring. The writing, acting and cinematography were extraordinary. Im not going to describe the film because it is too difficult, it has multiple layers but it seamlessly flows.Extraordinary film! We brought my mother and our 4 kids and everyone loved it. It is funny, moving and deeply inspiring. The writing, acting and cinematography were extraordinary. Im not going to describe the film because it is too difficult, it has multiple layers but it seamlessly flows. It has the classic sensibility of the sound of music, the heartwarming spirit of E.T. and cinematography like Life is Beautiful. In my opinion, it is the best family film of this decade.… Expand

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

MurrayT

Aug 4, 2015

I'm the first one to shut down a movie if I think they're trying to push religious beliefs under the guise of entertainment. This isn't one of those. Even the priest wasn't very sure of himself. When all is said and done you can believe what you want to believe, just as the people in theI'm the first one to shut down a movie if I think they're trying to push religious beliefs under the guise of entertainment. This isn't one of those. Even the priest wasn't very sure of himself. When all is said and done you can believe what you want to believe, just as the people in the movie did. One of my favorite movies of the year, it's a shame that a lot of people won't see it because the critics trashed it. And by reading some of the reviews here, it's obvious a lot of people don't "get it." A shame.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

AndresLuna

Aug 8, 2016

A very moving story. A drama with a profound meaning and intense moments in which the director captivates the heart. Definitely worth watching, and even better if with spouse and kids!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Hapkidoist

May 4, 2015

I took my 13 year old son to see this and we both loved it. Most of the bad reviews you read for this movie have more to do with an anti-Christian bias than the movie itself. It's a well written, well acted movie that was really fun to watch. Just go see it and make up your own mind.

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

jakeslaw

Apr 24, 2015

We all like stories and this story of a little boy who wants to see his dad come home from war will pull at your heart as you watch him try to "will" his dad home. Jakub Salvati is "Little Boy" and brings a freshness to the screen that has not been seen in years. The rest of the cast doWe all like stories and this story of a little boy who wants to see his dad come home from war will pull at your heart as you watch him try to "will" his dad home. Jakub Salvati is "Little Boy" and brings a freshness to the screen that has not been seen in years. The rest of the cast do their jobs admirably, though there is something very special in the interaction between Little Boy and Hashimoto, the Japanese stranger who moves into town. Critics do not like the film because it has a strong "Norman Rockwell" "Frank Capra" air about it. The priests are decent people. The mother of little boy is strong and holds the family together. The film does not shy away from the hatred and bigotry many held toward Japanese Americans during the war but confronts it with some real lessons for our times. There is no glorification of war and the pain felt on the home front is very visible in the character development. Are some scenes predictable? Perhaps. Does the director telegraph some of his moves? Yes. But none of this affects the overall feel and charm of the film. David Henrie does a super job of having the older son bottling up and exploding until a critical moment. so I recommend the film strongly and urge viewers to judge for themselves who is right - the critic or the ordinary guy.… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

LeZee

Nov 4, 2015

Wars are the scars in the human history.

I was two minded after seeing its trailer. Because I'm pretty much convinced it is a B movie. But that's not the issue, I usually put my faith on them and take my chances. So what bothered me was the film contents, because the trailed roughlyWars are the scars in the human history.

I was two minded after seeing its trailer. Because I'm pretty much convinced it is a B movie. But that's not the issue, I usually put my faith on them and take my chances. So what bothered me was the film contents, because the trailed roughly reveals what kind of movie it is, from that I reckoned it should have been a big production house's product. Hence, I believed the visuals could be disastrous, but that was not the case. In fact, it was a remarkable standard, one of the reasons for the movie's success, despite there are no list-A actors in the full fledged roles.

The boy was much better in the movie than I judged his performance in the trailer. He might have appeared in a few television episodes, but this was his silver-screen debut. A wonderful display and I believe he would bag more projects for this. It was a family film, an emotional drama set during the United States entry into the World War II. Takes place in a small western coastal town called O'Hare about a 7 year old boy Pepper, nicknamed Little Boy who's willing to do anything to bring back his father alive from the war. On the effort he takes up a series of task which later stuns his town and the whole country.

"Do you believe you can do this?"

The Fascinating thing was, the blend between the real occurrence with the fictitious attachment. People might believe it was based on the real, but it is not. Like I said the graphics were very crucial that matched to any big budget films, unfortunately it was a small portion, but definitely a big deal. It talks about lots of interesting stuff which is inspiring, partially funny and also a children friendly film. Especially it explains quite clearly the difference between religious beliefs and magics which is obviously little kids never understood. So it could help to learn something from other than the textbooks.

The plus points were the consequences of war (any war), how the people can get affected by the war, bullying, racism and misbelief. On the other hand the minus was too much ingredient in a little movie, fortunately clicked so well. As usual, it was knocked down by the critics who never recognised the art of sentimental works. If you are not one of them or their followers, you are going to enjoy it.

If it had some big names in the main cast, especially for the father and brother characters, then it would have been roared louder and helped the international markets. As being one of the finest storied movie that highlighted our past mistakes, sadly terribly failed at the box office, but very much could get a cult status because particularly families loved this one so far. Not highly, but simply I recommend it and one of the must see from year 2015.

8/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

gilgamesh123

Aug 17, 2015

this is the worst movie ever and a 2 year old boy could have written the story of this movie and the and why would a child act on a movie like this ****

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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