Una linea di sangue

I guess I am one of the selected few who appreciated the value or message movie was trying to send. I even got a kick out of the choice of Mickey Rourke as the Head 'priest'. I liked the movie and make no apologies!

In a lot of ways - at least the most important ones - this film takes the whole "teacher saves student" genre and gives it some actual life and intelligence. There's is a certain measure of self-awareness to how the script subverts the old clichés, making sure that it takes the opposite expected approach at key moments. In the end, this doesn't make it more realistic, just more different. At one point, the main character watches a portion of "Stand and Deliver", which is, interestingly, more raw and realistic than this film.

There's a kind of episodic approach to "Thicker Than Blood". It ends up feeling a little bit like an entire television season condensed to a single film. I believe that this takes away from the overall story. We're left without a lot of connecting tissue to keep it together. The emotional crescendo that finally rounds out the film loses some of it's punch because we're robbed of the quiet moments in the getting there.

But there are several good points. Richard Pearce works well with his actors, as he nearly always does. Working within a fairly standard script, he pulls an extra unexpected bit out of them in the process. The actors themselves are believable, which is a plus. Without the on-screen chemistry of Dan Futterman and Carlo Alban, there'd be little else to hold it all together. Alban, especially, has a kind of painful real life quality to him. If this type of story is your sort, it's up there with films like "Up the Down Staircase", "Stand and Deliver" and the "Boston Public" series. If it isn't, you might still get a little something from the experience.

I am a teacher, and I believe I have seen every film made in this genre: white teacher tries to go out and save the underprivileged urban children. This is the best of the lot. It is unpretentious and doesn't pretend to have all the answers. Without spoiling the ending, I will say that "Hollywood" would never have allowed it. I think it is a worthwhile film.

Maybe filled with cliches, but worthwhile. Ending was flawed, but probably realistic. Worth watching.

Very strong. Saw this a couple years ago but was compelled to submit only now due to the outrageously misleading two line post on main page. This was a tough, extremely well written, realistic piece featuring fine work by Dan Futterman and that rarest of rare these days, an excellent performance from Mickey Rourke as, of all things, a priest. He is remarkably disciplined and convincing for a change. Though it was made for cable this movie (along with HBO's recent "Cheaters") is superior to 95% of the junk that gets dumped into the neighborhood multiplex. A great deal of care and intelligence went into the making of this one. Check it out if you happen to be into that sort of thing.