Construyendo La Vida

Yes... my title says it all. this is my favourite movie and i'm not ashamed to say it. This movie is placed together very well, it not only explores a broken family, but a broken person fixed by the love of his dyin father. i watch this movie probably at least 3 times a month and it never ceases to make me cry. it's not so much the fact that the plot is emotional, but these actors make it seem so real, and although i know it's their job to do that, i think they have extremely well. I am, understandably an emotional person who has felt the loss of a parent at a young age, and i guess it's that in the movie which hits close to home. I would personally recommend this to anyone who wants a movie bout broken families, and reunited love. a tearjerker to those who feel the plot and brokenness of a boy and his journey.

"Life as a House" is not an easy film to watch. Its story is piercingly poignant, sometimes depraved, and unbearably sad. If you insist on flashy amusements and naive happy endings in your films, this is not for you. If you are "real" though, about the dynamics of our troubled lives, then it is for you. And if you are sensitive, then this is a film you can only watch about once a year.

It is well written, directed, and acted, especially by Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas. Hayden Christensen gives us the same believable anger, sullenness and pathos as his Anakin Skywalker character did in Episode II; maybe better. He makes a good troubled teen. And Jena Malone is good with the script she is dealt.

I'd recommend this film to anyone.

As predictable as this film is, it moved me in many ways. I am a single father, 58 years old, whose life largely revolves around a wonderful twelve year old boy. He'd better not go down the road of Kevin Kline's teenage kid or I'll kill him! (just kidding-don't call Child Protective Services just yet).

California Cinematic Dreamin' aside, the people here are real. Their vulnerabilities are in the open and they deal with each other as best they can. Kline's son is confused about more than his sexuality, far more. His first girlfriend accepts him and, more importantly, her own sexuality, with a maturity in no way undermined by a delightfully playful demeanor.

As in similar films, the viewer has to suspend reality when the doomed character accepts his fate with no mention of palliative, much less curative, medical intervention. His condition is never fully described but a quick, distant shot of murmuring doctors examining x-rays (x-rays? No MRIs, CAT scans or PET scans in a CA hospital?) brings home that the architectural model builder has hit a brick wall.

The cast is first-rate - everyone plays his/her role convincingly.

The message of the film is, of course, the enduring need for community. And this celluloid community is moving and loving. A truly fine film. (Yep, I cried into my popcorn.)

Though Kline and Scott-Thomas are the leads and show their chops that made them stars, Christensen shines so brilliantly that his talent is breath-taking. Each role is so well-portrayed that you're completely comfortable understanding the plot. The movie is challenging, thought-provoking, and intensely human, well-worth the attention of men who may presume that it's a chick flick. The action and adventure is in the challenge to deal with the plot. It's gut-honest, everyday life, involving situations we all deal with: intent, marital disharmony, second-guessing decisions we made, seeing the light, and desperate substitutes we use to deflect pain.

Sense I've seen this move it has been my all time favorite! Not only do the actors play wonderfully, but the storyline of the movie is exquisite! It's about a Man(Kevin Kline) and his struggle in life with his job, family, and health. Through the move he gets in touch with his troubled son Sam(Hayden Christensen) and ex-wife Robin(Kristin Scott Thomas) a lot of anger in the beginning of the movie that transforms into smiles and laughter, it's amazing to see how the characters change so much. If you like to laugh and cry and all that good stuff you'll love this movie, Watch it, NOW! Although it truly is an excellent movie, I would not recommend this movie to anyone younger than 13, a lot of cursing, some drug usage and sexuality.