Un enfant pas comme les autres

David (John Cusack) lost his wife two years ago. He's still struggling with the loss, especially since his wife, Mary, had wanted to adopt a child. Now, David gets the idea that, even though he is single, he will try to make the adoption happen. When he learns of a child named Dennis (Bobby Coleman), David is intrigued. Dennis, an abandoned and abused child, hides in a box and insists he is a Martian child, waiting for his real, alien parents to come and get him. This is a revelation to David, for he, too, was a shy, outcast child who developed elaborate stories, stories that eventually became his bread-and-butter as a leading science fiction writer. But, once Dennis is placed in David's home, the task of "socializing" the little boy enough to satisfy the decrees of the social service agencies becomes daunting. Dennis insists he only can eat Lucky Charms and he steals/borrows from others repeatedly, among other odd behaviors. But, it is painfully obvious that the tiny lad is in a gripping, constant fear that David will abandon him, too. Can David succeed in making Dennis his true son? This is a lovely film, one told with humor and sensitivity. Cusack, a very fine performer, is excellent as the man who opens his heart up to a troubled, scared, discarded-by-others little boy. Coleman is also wonderful as the youngster with a giant imagination. The rest of the cast, Joan Cusack, Howard Hesseman, Amanda Peet, and others fulfill their roles nicely as well. All of the production niceties, such as costumes, sets, and scenery, are more than adequate. Yet, it is the script that is the biggest winner here, laying out a story of bonding, lasting love between a father and a son that can not fail to touch a heart of stone. Do you want to see a film that will bring laughter bubbling up through a dose of tears? March out right now and buy your ticket for the lovely Martian Child.

I work in a cinema so I'm in the perfect job not to miss any film releases including minor ones like this film. I call this film a "minor" release because it was not advertised much, just a trailer here and there but it's the type of film that make me happy to work at a cinema otherwise i would have miss out on this little treasure of a film. The story is simple , a lonely widower, also a sci-fi best selling author , adopt a child who lives in a world of his own were he convinced himself that he's a Martian who was sent to earth to study the human race. The child's rather strange, he hates the sun and doesn't smile often. At first the writer he's not sure if he's up to the task to bring up a child with such big issues but little by little he realized that he was the perfect match for the boy. In a world were we have countless film about fart jokes and people getting tortured to death , I found "Martian Child" to be a breath of fresh air. It's a sweet film without being corny. The acting is great all around.John Cusack his wonderful as always but its the young Bobby Coleman who plays Dennis the young boy who's the real star of this film he is great but also likable and god knows how this sort of character could have turned out in the wrong child actor's hands. Joan Cusack bring much of the comic moments in this film and it's nice to see her with her real life brother , I love that woman , she always add something to any film she's in. The most interesting aspect of this film is seeing the character of Dennis progression throughout the film , from a troubled boy to a happy kid , it was really well done. Somme people might found this film "overly sentimental" but I believe it's because we live in a cynical world and a film like Martian child stand out more in a time when we are not used to see a film that doesn't show violence or gross out humor. The main purpose of the film is to introduced us to two character , make us love them and see them grow together and it does a more then decent job at that. I would recommend this film to anyone who has enough of a open mind to accept a film that just wants to grab hold of our heart for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I think this film is a nice little gem and I don't care about all the critics that found it just too sentimental.For the full duration of the film I was interested by the characters and at the end I was happy for them and thats all I ask for a film , that the character are involving.

I enjoyed this film very much. It touched on so many personal issues -self-worth, identity, need to connect to others through acceptance. Never conforming totally to what is expected of you... preserve the child within and against fear stepping forward to trust.

This film remains focused on the relationship between father and son. The other characters provide a balance of "emotional artwork" and never over shadow or distract from the primary quest. Will this child give up on his fantasy? Will the story take us on a ride? On the surface, this film masks as a typical story of the single parent needing to fill a void so he adopts a young foster child who has social issues. It remains emotionally balanced, yet reaches us in deeper places. We awaken to our core of unconditional love and deep desire to be unlimited in our power. It proves that we all have so much more inside than we ever tap into. A must see.

I was able to catch this film during a sneak preview a few weeks back. I really had no idea what the film would be about given I hadn't seen many trailers and only knew elements of the story from the synopsis I read of it on Rotten Tomatoes. So I went in with a pretty clean slate.

The film jumps right into things and doesn't really take a lot of pit stops. It charges forward with the story and I think that is the thing I appreciated the most about it. We are not weighted down with too much subplot and extraneous emotional scenes. We are given exactly what we need to form a connection with all the characters.

The film is changed some from the book that it is based on. Mainly that the lead character played by John Cusack is a widower rather than homosexual. In the end, it really doesn't matter the sexuality of the Cusack character, the connection he creates with his son is fantastic to watch develop. They are the same, though different in that one is grounded in reality and the other up in Mars some where. Both are individuals in a world that doesn't want different, the want everyone to do exactly as they are expected to.

Loved the film, will be a definite purchase come DVD time.

As a father/parent with five kids, I highly recommend all guardians of life see Martian Child. I'm personally a better person and have expanded my acceptance of others self-expression. We should all find, our voices and release the Martian Child within us. This is a special singular film in this CGI era. (FYI: I love CGI.) Martian Child balances out product driven entertainment with straight, direct to the soul, honest entertainment. This film has given me, the gift to give my own children much more room to be free, self-expressed and accepted exactly the way they are, and the way they are not. My wife is also enjoying the benefits. If they only knew, I'm simply seeing them as my Martian Child. See it, and find your inner Martian. Luis Moro, Never hide.