Con gli occhi del cuore

When you think of all the movies we have grown to like, they usually involve someone being blown to pieces, or spectacular special effects, or various "four-letter words" every second word. Of course TV Movies can't meet these guidelines since they work on a relatively limited budget and reduced time frame. As a result we end up getting movies with cheesy plots (and sometimes no plots at all!) with lame acting and all we think to ourselves after two hours is "Could have gone bowlin' or something!"

Well after two hours of "Anya's Bell", I was not only impressed, but deeply moved. This is a heartwarming tale of a boy who befriends an old blind lady. Plot sound familiar? It probably does - young kid meets old man - they team up, start a wonderful friendship - man dies. Even though Anya's Bell follows this model plot, it still manages to keep the viewer interested.

The deeply emotional performances of Mason Gamble (Dennis the Menace) and Della Reese (Touched By An Angel) in the roles of Scott and Anya can't help but affect the viewer on an emotional level. The subplots I didn't care much for.

You may find it cheesy, unrealistic and way too familiar, but perhaps that's a good thing. Perhaps we need to get in touch more with our emotions. After all, this movie is a lot more realistic than "Terminator 2" or "Star Wars" (although Star Wars is one of my favourite movies of all time!).

Bottom Line - "Anya's Bell" isn't the best TV movie ever made, but it sure is a great, touching, and heartwarming film, that had my attention every step of the way. Good family entertainment stressing good moral values. It's more worth your time watching this movie than watching some ridiculous, crude sitcom. I give it an 8 out of 10 - my highest rating EVER for a TV Movie!

It's kind of odd, because movies that I can predict usually bore me. And I can honestly say that I figured what was going to happen to Anya by about half way through the movie. DESPITE this, the movie didn't cease to make me smile. And at the end, I even cried. Della Reese's performance is spectacular, with good supporting actors and actresses. A *VERY* good movie!

No explosions, no gunfire, just good acting. It was nice to only have one named star in the movie. I found I could better concentrate on the plot than thinking about what this person had done, or what the other person had acted in. I liked this movie very much. I'd like to know if it's available for sale as I can't seem to find it anywhere.

One of those rare feel good films, no action, no swearing, no sex, just a family movie that tackles two subjects together in a film for the first time. The chemistry and interaction between Della Reese, and Mason Gamble is first class, and I challenge anyone to resist shedding a tear in the last 10 minutes.

Della has a long resume, and her gift as an actress allows her to pull off a difficult role, which shows how the world can hold so much fear for someone without sight. Young Mason has a future ahead of him in films, if he keeps his feet on the ground through his teens, and continues to put in performances as good as this.

"Anya's Bell" was somewhat disappointing in how the story was quite predictable, from beginning to end, but thankfully I was very happy (or sad if you will) to discover that it still managed to do what it's supposed to: jerk around the tear canals, and it does so very well.

But then again it's hard to go wrong when you got Della Reese, one of the best African American actresses of her generation and Mason Gamble, one of the best Caucasian child actors of his generation. They make such a wonderful and touching pair I would have liked to see them in an entire mini-series exploring their unique relationship even more so, and following them through several years (all though it would probably be physically impossible with a 13 year old in one of the leads).

Very formulaic but still very beautiful, touching and heartwarming, and a TV-movie not easily forgotten.

And what a touching last scene, when Scott makes sure Anya will always be with him, flying like the wind...