Luce dei miei occhi

My wife and I watched this small movie at home on DVD from our public library. At one point during the middle of the movie she asked, "What is it about movies like this that makes it a 'B' movie." Of course the answer is this, the script, the directing, the camera work, the acting, the sound, the set decoration are each somewhat below the level of the really good movies. To me it just demonstrates how hard it is to make really good movies.

The theme here is people and horses, a young rider training for a big competition has a seemingly mild fall from her ride but as the days pass her eyesight gradually deteriorates. A specialist confirms that she is going blind. That brings in the subject of guide dogs, blind friends, and eventually a miniature horse as a support companion.

It was nice to see a couple of good veteran actors, Amy Smart as the mom and Burt Reynolds (in one of his last roles) as the dog trainer. The story is overly simple and the acting straightforward. The young girl and her parents get past the idea of blindness for life way too quickly and too easily. Still it was a mostly enjoyable 80 minutes and a way for youngsters to get some experience in the moviemaking business.

Apple of My Eye is an entertaining and educational look into the world of guide animals. The straight-to-DVD feature ends abruptly. Not cliffhanger-style or in ambiguity, as if asking the audience to ponder a larger truth. The film just ends, like the producers ran out of time or money and never shot the last 20 pages of script. It's no loss. The movie's main conflict-whether Bailey (Avery Arendes) can bond with a guide animal-is over the moment she meets miniature horse Apple. It's love at first sight, and the rest of the movie is spent integrating Apple into the family. Being a family-friendly film, this happens with few hiccups. Apple is adorable, but a one trick pony. Anyone expecting a typical "animal" movie with cute stunts and homewrecking will be disappointed. Apple spends her time (yes, Apple is a filly) walking with Bailey and lying down. She performs one stunt. However, as the movie points out, guide dogs (or horses) are working animals-not pets-and should not be treated as such. Much of the film was shot in cooperation with, and on location at Southeastern Guide Dogs near Tampa, Florida. As a result, Apple of My Eye often feels like a promotional video for the center. That's not bad. The film teaches us a lot about visual impairment, braille, guide animals, their training and their function. The film boasts a veteran cast, led by Burt Reynolds. He plays Charlie, the center's fatherly director. Amy Smart is Bailey's overworked mom Caroline. Liam McIntyre is unemployed dad Jason. AJ Michalka and Jack Griffo are employees, though sadly Michalka is underutilized. Apple of My Eye sheds light on an important issue while slipping a sizeable amount of education into an easy to watch 84-minute package. We never notice we're in school. We're too busy watching the adorable Apple.

A tender story about a teenager who loses her sight after a riding accident and has to learn to cope with her new life. Not quite embracing any of the guide dogs offered to her, her life begins anew when the guide dog trainer decides to train an adorable miniature horse to be her companion animal.

Obviously geared towards the older single digit crowd, this story unfolds without a single emotional outburst or anything that might possibly scar the young ones. In this world, going blind carries with it the same inconvenience as having to take out the trash or do the dishes. Ugh, chores. Ugh, blindness. But maybe that's good in teaching the lesson that it really is not a big deal, and everyone should be treated the same. Of laughable distinction though, and worth mentioning, is the casting of the parents. Amy Smart and Liam McIntyre are both just old enough to seem ancient to any nine year old, and since that's the target audience we can ignore the fact that they lack chemistry as a couple, bear no resemblance to their child, and give off more of an auditioning actor vibe than a parent concerned with their 16 year old daughter's new disability. Add to that the fact that lead actress Avery Arendes, though entirely capable, carries herself with such seriousness that the presumed age gap between her and her parents shrinks. So for heart, this film gets a solid two thumbs up from the under ten in me. But the middle schooler inside is looking down his nose at me and wants to kill me for picking this on Netflix.

This is the best family movie I have seen in decades as it helps all to deal with life issues in a unique and special way