Camera

This movie is about a mute 9-year-old boy named Oscar. After moving to a fishing town with his widowed mother, he gets bullied by other children and struggles to fit in. He finds peace in his camera which belonged to his late dad and forms a bond with the owner of a local repair shop, Eric Conway played by Beau Bridges. Eric shares with Oscar photography tips and spends time with him unlike anyone else, including his mother. The movie also tackles the modernisation debate brought up by one of the locals. Locals were divided between keep doing what they did for generations or build a luxury hotel to bring in tourists, create new jobs and boost the economy.

The movie was nice to watch. Miguel Gabriel who played Oscar did not convince me much with his performance however this seems to be his first movie for the big screen, so he is excused😊 I enjoyed more the performance of supporting actors Beau Bridges and Jessica Parker Kennedy (Oscar's mum). Cinematography and music were fine, and the ending was very emotional. Oscar manages to speak through his photography and in the process unite the divided locals.

This smaller movie, filmed in a California coastal community stars Beau Bridges who also was the producer. The cast also includes his 30-yr-old son. Just interesting facts, nothing more.

There are several things going on in this story but the main one is a hotel corporation evaluating the community for a new resort. That is in conflict with what many (or most?) want, a new cannery for this fishing community.

A new family moves into the area, a woman who works at the local restaurant/bar and her 9-yr-old, non-verbal son named Oscar. He was born premature, had some needed surgery which damaged his vocal cords, but he is very bright and catches on to new things quickly.

The boy has an old Mamiya C220 TLR camera that was handed down from his deceased dad, who had gotten it from his dad. The camera wasn't working, needed some cleaning and repairs, but the boy often carried it around his neck. He seemed interested in photography but under the circumstances made drawings instead in his notebook.

A chance meeting with Eric (Beau Bridges), the local fix-it man, who also was an avid photographer, changed everything. Eric had an identical camera, loaned it to Oscar, gave him some instruction, taught him the art of B&W film developing and printing in his darkroom.

A number of things transpire from that start, Eric becomes the friend Oscar needed, someone who appreciated him for who he was. And, Oscar's photography ended up uniting the community after much turmoil.

Good movie, my wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Prime. After our usual Saturday evening steak and wine dinner. With chocolate cake for dessert, of course.

Nothing questionable here, no nudity or any foul language, just a wonderful story of a young boy (Miguel Gabriel) who is Oscar who has an "eye" for photography. He is mute from a hospital accident at birth but other than that he can communicate quite well especially with his eyes. It takes a great talent to portray emotion with just your eyes and no sounds and he does it like it was truly how he is in real life. He must deal with new surroundings in this picturesque fishing village with a plethora of unique characters all around him for his "canvas" . He must deal with some bullies, and one bad uncle who is also a drug dealer. After a close call with the bullies, Oscar hides in an old fix it shop run by Beau Bridges and soon the magic begins as Bridges teaches the young boy all about photography and how to develop it and enlarge it. What happens next is truly amazing as this young mute causes the whole town to understand themselves in a new and unique way as well as bring everyone together after the town suffers a financial loss. Get some tissue and be prepared for a wonderful family story for everyone especially kids and those who love photography. Enjoy!'

Many people criticized the film for being too sentimental, probably resenting the fact that it made them tear up, but it's not the kind of sad that you usually see in films. Instead it's a bit bittersweet, with an underlying solution for that sadness.

The story is about a little mute child in a poor fisherman village where everybody is struggling, is frustrated and sad. His mother is sad, his uncle is sad and he has no friends until he befriends an old man who fixes his old camera, the only thing he has left from his dead father. The lesson here being that even when life gives you lemons, you can see their beauty when you photograph them in black and white.

OK, I am a bit mean, but the movie is pretty beautiful. Beau Bridges piles on the gravitas of his voice and the nice old man vibe, the kid is actually a pretty good actor - and you know how rare that is, while the supporting characters all show moments of deepness without taking too much screen time. The ending is a bit weak, with some over the top farewell scenes with actors that don't really land them, but the rest of the film does convey that idea that you can find beauty in the most banal and sad moments.

Bottom line: not a masterpiece, but a good dramatic film.

In this well-crafted film by Jay Silverman, a young mute boy, (Oscar), is mentored in the fine art of capturing a good photograph by an older Vietnam veteran played by Beau Bridges. After much practice and a multitude of mistakes, young Oscar begins to see the true soul of his small seaside town through a new lens. No pun intended!

Jay's casting has the feel of a European film, where minor as well as lead roles appear as average people we see in our daily lives. Enough already, of Hollywood films where the men look like Tom Cruise and the women like Julia Roberts, and they live in impossibly expensive homes for their character's economic station.

I highly recommend this heartwarming film with a soul-searching ending.