Amy

If we talk about non-American movies, European and Asian cinema are quite well known, but Australia seems to stay behind a bit. However, from time to time one of their movies makes it all the way to one of our TV-stations and sometimes they offer a nice surprise. "Amy" is one of those Australian movies that are more than just worth a watch...

It is about an eight year old girl that has become mentally mute and deaf after she witnessed her father die on a stage during a rock concert. She lives with her mother on a farm, but because the government wants to take her from her mother, they are convinced that she is mistreated by her mom, they both move to the big city. Here they end up in a bad neighborhood, full of people who stand very low on the social ladder. At first the neighbors aren't too happy with the "intruders", but one of them soon finds out that he can communicate with Amy by making music and singing...

Even though the movie had its weaker moments, overall this is a very touching story that has been done in a very nice way. All the singing started to work a bit on my nerves after a while, but it wasn't that awful that it made me forget about the beauty of the movie. I guess you have to be the ultimate macho to say that this movie didn't touch you a bit and even then I wouldn't believe you. Personally I liked this movie very much and that's why I give it at least a 7.5/10.

I liked this movie but I was a bit confused as to what sort of movie it was - I would say it was a pot pourri of type. Was it a drama with quirky little pieces of dark comedy and surrealism thrown in for good measure? One wonders whether the director or producers could not make their minds up as to what type of movie it would be. Perhaps everyone got their way. It might have made more at the box office if it had been a children's story - which it probably is, if you take out the swearwords, and family violence etc. In my opinion, this great cast of actors might have been a little bit let down by the script, which could have built better stories of victory over adversity with each character, and also added a little more surrealism.

This movie certainly showed some dramatic snapshots of some of the lives and situations of people living in Australia. The coppers singing whilst searching for Amy was fantastic. Mendelsohn's 'lyrics of life' were also deep and meaningful.

Alana De Roma's performance as a singer and actor were excellent. Golly, has she got a future!

I would rate this movie as a 6.5 out of 10; well worth watching.

[Was it a touch of irony that one time Melbourne rock legend Bobby Bright played the busker on the street? Why wasn't he singing "Hitch Hiker"?]

The latest film from Australians Nadia Tass and David Parker (Malcom, The Big Steal, Stark, Mr Reliable, Ricky And Pete and Pure Luck) works superbly in some respects and woefully in others.

A little girl (Amy Enker) sees her rock star father (Nick Barker from The Reptiles) die from electrocution on stage. She then seems to be unable to speak or to even hear others. Her mother (Rachel Griffiths) refuses to have her daughter taken from her by welfare and they hide out in inner city Melbourne. There they meet assorted misfits and desperates including a musician called Robert (Ben Mendelsohn).

These film makers enjoy adding a slight touch of surrealism to their movies, especially to the peripheral characters. In Amy this takes the form of stupid eccentrics, in particular singing policemen, which some may find the most appealing element of the film but which I found annoying; only a distraction from that which is so much more effective.

The dramatic aspects of Amy are particularly strong. Rachel Griffiths and Ben Mendelsohn are two of our most emotive actors. The essential element of the film is the emotional pain the little girl and her mother are enduring caused by the death of a man they both loved dearly. Their grief is strongly portrayed.

The search by these two for a solution that may allow the daughter to escape her self imposed withdrawal from the world is poignant and demanded a film that steadfastly remained a drama.

Dad's electrocution, an utterly hateful paparazzi photographer and a helplessly crying young lad reeling from domestic violence and drunkenness are all I needed from Amy. The rest didn't fit at all.

It was also pretty unlikely that the little girl could sing so well, but hey, that's entertainment!

Although I liked 'Amy' a lot, and will give it high marks, I disagree with the statement by other reviewers that the movie differs a lot from the standard American fare.

Sure, the scenery is great, the people talk different accents, and the cops are almost British in their politeness. Yet, from a plot point of view this movie is as canonical as it can be. For starters there is the not so subtle emotional plot line of a mother and her daughter who have not completed mourning their loved one. There is a considerable amount of bad guys and good guys, whose roles sometimes flip. Halfway through the film there is an extended chase and search sequence. Then there are the characters with a serious deficiency, like the guitar player who is a dropout, which turns out to be a great asset in the plot. I mean, this is Disney! And last but not least there is the happy ending.

As there are no comments here on my fav film i thought i'd put one. I found this film amazing. I loved it. i have now watched it 4 times on video and thinking of watching it again this afternoon. It's a fine movie to show the world just how great and touching our movies can be. Rachel Griffiths and Alana De Roma were excellent. And all supporting cast were fab. And the songs were great and well picked for where they were put into the story. Okay i better get back to my h/w now. Then watch AmY again!