Vuelo a la libertad

'Radio Flyer' is really not the sort of film to watch if you are depressed or have had a violent childhood but the storyline makes for a rather bittersweet film. The film revolves around eight-year old Mike and six-year-old Bobby who move to a small town with their mother and new step-father not long after their biological father abandons them. Instead of heralding a fresh start for the boys, their new life turns to terror and misery when their step-father, who likes to be called the King, physically abuses little Bobby. Mike, desperate to protect his little brother, then plans to turn his Radio Flyer trailer into a plane so they can fly away to safety.

Lorraine Bracco, who plays the boys' mother, was quite good in showing the vulnerability, shame and protectiveness of a mother who realises her children are being harmed by her husband and Stephen Baldwin was very effective in portraying the King's vicious, cruel nature even though we never see his face. However, it is a young Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello, who play Mike and Bobby respectively, who carry the film and both rise to the occasion brilliantly. Elijah Wood's Mike was portrayed as a very sympathetic character who you truly felt was loyal and loving to his mother and brother despite his tender age while Joseph Mazzello was very sweet and engaging as Bobby, a little boy who just couldn't comprehend why an adult who was meant to care for him was instead hurting him.

As I said before, this film is definitely not for the very young or those who are very sensitive to issues of child abuse because Bobby doesn't just get a smack or two in the film, he is brutalised to the point where you just want to reach through to the screen and give the King a taste of his own medicine. It is quite disturbing to actually see on-screen the treatment this six-year-old endures. That said, 'Radio Flyer' is an endearing film about how even the youngest of children can be brave, loyal and have wills of steel. And with the ending being rather ambiguous, viewers can interpret for themselves what fate met Bobby.

I sobbed watching this film. The best thing they did was never show the step dads face. He was a monster, and the boys knew it. You can only hope all child beaters will gain some shame from this.

When I first saw this movie, I first started to hate it because of the violence of abuse, but what got to me, was the music of the movie, and the acting that went with it. I, admit, a dream about a talking buffalo was a little weird, but what got to me was the music through the dream, and the VERY COOL performances of Elijah Wood, as the confused brother, torn between about what he knows, and what he can not say. Promises not to say as a special PACT with his younger brother, who tells him not to say anything to the mother.. A BRILLANT DEBUT of Joseph Mazzello, who moves you with the music, as he see his destiny, before it happens, of getting away from the King, the Abuser, by building a airplane, out of a toy wagon. Let me tell, nothing gets you like the end of the movie, and the younger brother is ready to take off the flyer, they built. One brother gives his favorite jacket, as sign of love to remember him by. Out of *****, I give this movie a *****.

This bittersweet slice of magic realism had a checkered production history (director/writer replaced) and tanked at the box office, but it's a helluva film.

Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello are pre-teen brothers whose flaky mom (Lorraine Bracco) shacks up with a mean-spirited alcoholic (Adam Baldwin). During his drinking bouts, Baldwin physically abuses Mazzello and manipulates him into remaining silent about his situation. But when Wood cottons on to what's happening, the boys put their heads together and hatch a fantastique solution to Mazzello's devastating dilemma.

I love films that mix fantasy and dark reality. They are rarely successful financially ("Lawn Dogs" is a similar example), but they are usually original and intriguing.

The drunk Baldwin is shot from a low, child's perspective and his head is deliberately lopped off below the top of frame. This device allows us to judge him purely by his actions and as a totally physicalized beast. Both Wood and Mazzello are excellent, and they pull us effortlessly into their dark, frightening world.

The "radio flyer" of the title is a small red wagon kids transport their belongings in. Here it transports a dream.

Seriously interesting stuff.

When I saw the imaginative drama "Radio Flyer", immediately perceived the enormous talent of Joseph Mazzello and Elijah Wood. The children control this movie. By the way, Mazzello is the best young actor of Hollywood. As regards Donner's film, is perfectly familiar; sometimes tense, but always captivating! I appreciated Joe Mazzello's performance and I detailed Wood as his brother Mike.