El ojo del delfín

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this film, but I came away from it really impressed. Even though it's somewhat corny at times, it deals with some fairly complex issues. There was emotion, drama, and even some well-placed humor. The film looks great, and has some impressive performances, especially from some of the more minor characters. Plus, there were the dolphins. Ahhhh, the dolphins. Very cute, and very funny, as always. Granted, it's not my kind of movie, but it's very well made, and definitely enjoyable. I would highly recommend this to anyone into teen/family dramas, or anyone who's a fan of dolphins.

"Eye of the Dolphin", with a title like that you would expect the film to be a cheesy family flick or sweet adventure for the little ones. Well, although it is a film a family can watch and enjoy together and has dolphins swimming around and jumping about in a beautiful location, cheesy and sweet are not words I would choose to describe this movie.

Eye of the Dolphin is an eye opening, thoughtful, and engaging experience. With a lovely cast starring Carly Schroeder, your not so typical teenage girl. Granted young girls like make-up, boys, and talking but they are at a stage in their life where the slightest troubles and tragedies can throw their whole world askew into the dark abyss of adolescence.

Although they are young they have an innate ability to relate and associate themselves with those who they find similar. And who better to do that than Alyssa, a troubled teen who has just lost her mother, is being expelled from school, and is forced to live in a new place where she knows no one especially the father she thought she didn't have.

This film explores the nature of the father and daughter relationships. At a time that is the most difficult for the majority because it is at a period where dad and daughter are the most distant from each other. Coming from two completely different worlds where both suddenly have to discover new ways to relate and communicate.

We are also given snippets of questions and ideas to ponder. How to stand up for what your passionate about. No matter how estranged, how important family is. What is valuable to a community? Where is the line drawn between science and spirituality?

To add to all of this is the element of adventure Alyssa brings to the screen. Who wouldn't love the ability to communicate with animals and swim free in the wild with dolphins? There is also one last thing that ties this all together for the film, its beauty. Not only is it shot on location in the Bahamas but the cinematography is gorgeous. The colors draw you into the tropical and underwater world of Alyssa and Rosca her new dolphin friend.

All in all this is a film that pleasantly surprises and succeeds on many levels. Most of all when you walk away you will say to yourself..."I wish I could swim with dolphins!"

Alyssa is a troubled 14-year old. What a surprise.

Suspended from school a year after her mother has drowned, her grandmother Lucy, who doesn't want to be called grandma -- doesn't that explain Alyssa? -- at wit's end, decides to take Alyssa to her father, James, whom Alyssa thought was dead for years.

Some family.

He studies dolphin communication at Smith's Point, on the Grand Bahama Island. James has not known of Alyssa's existence and is clueless about parenthood. Amazing.

The women arrive at the same time that James may lose his research operation to a tourist attraction. Convenient.

Father, daughter, dolphins, and town are on a collision course. Alyssa and James get encouragement from James's girlfriend and her father. It's the dolphins who can teach, and Alyssa who discovers how to listen.

What a pitch. The film is just OK, but it's not surprising it made no money.

Nice family movie and who doesn't love dolphins? Eye of the Dolphin is a family drama that will appeal to anyone who likes movies with the hard edges blunted and the narrative bumps smoothed. There's real heart to be found in the story but it comes along with borderline saccharine sentimentality, a too facile ending, and clean outcomes that aren't earned. The film's final scenes frustrate, not because bad things happen but because there's a sense that the movie has cheated us by substituting a resolution of convenience instead of one of substance. Among its assets, Eye of the Dolphin counts wonderful photography (both above and below water) and an effective performance by leading actress Carly Schroeder. Tween and teen girls will identify with her and the character she plays, and this makes the movie targeted strongly at them. Older viewers who are hoping for something with more heft may be disappointed.

Clichezinho, but so cute, simple and delicate... Cute ...