Growing Pains. Worlds that cannot be reconciled. Standards that cannot be met.
This film has my heart. The narrative moves with a tone as fragile as lies, as delicate as first love, as fleeting as childhood. It also carries a heaviness that cannot be understated; a cold salty somberness that punches straight through you.
“If you have forgotten how to be a child you cannot teach children.” - Austin O'Malley
Though this is not a movie about adults forgetting to be childlike, but rather adults forgetting what it is like to live in the world of a child. Children make law out of adult’s black and white teachings. They know what’s wrong but they don’t know why. They know what’s right, but they don’t know how. That’s why what's rational for an adult and what’s rational for a child will never be the same. This movie is set in that gap. The space between adult and child. Despite this, this is in no way a story about teenagers or the bridge between these two worlds; in fact, the stark distinction between the methodologies of adults and children is a key feature of the film.
Can we judge the grown-ups from seeing things from within the established societal standards? I am adult enough to know that the conclusions they reached aren’t far from what I would have guessed.
Can we judge the children for lashing out when they aren’t able to articulate themselves within these standards? Can we blame a child for deviating from an expected emotional reaction? I am child enough to understand what it feels like to stumble through the dichotomy of these two worlds.
This film holds so much wisdom. Behind all of the lies, stands universal truths. There is no love perfect enough to protect the ones we love against the evils of the world. There is no evil terrible enough to conceal the glimpses of good. There is no standard that can perfectly be met. There is no monster. There is right and wrong and in between. And cats and pigs and happiness.
“If you have forgotten how to be a child you cannot teach children.” - Austin O'Malley
Though this is not a movie about adults forgetting to be childlike, but rather adults forgetting what it is like to live in the world of a child. Children make law out of adult’s black and white teachings. They know what’s wrong but they don’t know why. They know what’s right, but they don’t know how. That’s why what's rational for an adult and what’s rational for a child will never be the same. This movie is set in that gap. The space between adult and child. Despite this, this is in no way a story about teenagers or the bridge between these two worlds; in fact, the stark distinction between the methodologies of adults and children is a key feature of the film.
Can we judge the grown-ups from seeing things from within the established societal standards? I am adult enough to know that the conclusions they reached aren’t far from what I would have guessed.
Can we judge the children for lashing out when they aren’t able to articulate themselves within these standards? Can we blame a child for deviating from an expected emotional reaction? I am child enough to understand what it feels like to stumble through the dichotomy of these two worlds.
This film holds so much wisdom. Behind all of the lies, stands universal truths. There is no love perfect enough to protect the ones we love against the evils of the world. There is no evil terrible enough to conceal the glimpses of good. There is no standard that can perfectly be met. There is no monster. There is right and wrong and in between. And cats and pigs and happiness.
Was this review helpful to you?