Smile

I didn't hear about this movie at all. I was walking through Movie Gallery and came across this movie. I initially noticed Sean Astin's name so I picked it up. I then realized that the movie was based on OPERATION SMILE. I had to rent the movie then. Operation Smile is an organization that goes to third world countries and does facial reconstructive surgery on children. I personally think this is amazing. The movie captured the heart-rending pain that physically deformed children go through. It captured the love the parents had for those children and the sacrifices that they go through. It also captured Katie's journey from selfish spoiled little brat to someone who thinks about somebody else for a change. It showed her compassion bloom and it was a very pleasant movie to watch. I heartily recommend it.

A rising star. Mika Boreem displays a mature acting ability that really shines through, especially toward the end of the movie. We'll see her in the future at the Academy Awards. The interaction between Mika, Linda Hamilton and Beau Bridges is good, but not very "life-like". Like I said the plot's cheesy. However, showing the different lives of the two girls is excellent. The "teenage sex issues" are decent enough for younger viewers and of course Hollywood throws in a couple of "donkey" words to thrill those who have a need to hear some cussing, although it is very minor. Linda's (Beauty) acting is superb and Sean Astin plays a believable part and does a good job as well. Jonathon Trent is also one to watch for. The cinematography is very good and the film has just enough good stuff to put it on a "one to see" list.

This film is noteworthy: beautiful cinematography, super performance by many of the Chinese actors, and a great message. Some of the scenes seem a little unrealistic, but the movie compels me to charitable action -- that and great cinematography make for a worthwhile film.

The film creates an interesting comparison between a 17-year-old girl, Katie, from affluent L.A., and her counterpart, Lin, a girl of exactly the same age, from rural China. Their friendship will hopefully lead other young people to travel, to give of themselves and to form their own cross-cultural relationships.

I enjoyed listening to Director Jeffrey Kramer's notes, which give a whole new set of insights into several aspects of the film. First, being filmed in rural China, the film captures innumerable authentic elements of the culture, which Kramer points out. Second, Kramer talks about the many intercultural, interpersonal relationships going on behind the scenes in this film. Finally, as Kramer mentions more than once, the movie touches interestingly on the one-child policy in China and how it affects families.

Some of the performances, especially on the Malibu side, seem a bit of a stretch from reality. However, on the Shanghai side, the performance by the actors playing Lin and her family are superb. Despite some of the aspects of the screenplay which seem to stretch realism, overall the intercultural aspects, cinematography and charitable cause make this one worth watching -- and being changed by.

I get one for me and one for my wife which I usually don't watch. This one I did and was pleasantly surprised. As mentioned elsewhere the shots of China were as intriguing as those of Malibu. They're all quite revealing, details of life at both locations that I didn't expect. But the real surprise was the lead, Mika Boorem, who I don't recall having seen anywhere before. I've never seen anyone play 'innocent' and naive as boldly as this girl. What's also surprising is that her Chinese counterparts also come across as unusually devoid of negative traits with one exception.

Anyway, this is the true story of someone needing an operation and how she eventually got it thanks to a teenager from Malibu. Not my usual idea of a fun movie, but I was engaged throughout. Not quite sure what did it, but if you're a guy looking to impress a charitable girl, this movie is a good bet.

Two redeeming qualities of this film were the cinemaphotography and a storyline that was hard to resist. However, the script, the direction, and some scenes, were just awful. I kept asking myself why such a good cast would have produced such a bad movie. My only conclusion was that these actors must believe in the charity which underlies the plot of the movie, but knew the movie was filled with flaws.

This film could have been so much better, and reached a larger audience accordingly. What makes me think this is that with all of the problems of the film, some scenes being painfully bad to watch, I still wanted to see how the obvious conclusion would resolve itself.