Un soffio per la felicità

After reading the Karen Kingsbury novel that the movie 'Like Dandelion Dust' was based on, I was very much looking forward to watching it. However, I was disheartened to see that there was no mention of Christ Jesus at all in the movie. The whole premise of the story in the novel was to show that faith in Jesus and prayer will overcome all odds. Instead, the movie portrayed Christians as righteous and overbearing. And that making wishes on dandelions works better than prayer. The movie also left out a lot of detail that although made it work, I felt that it rushed the story. I understand that when you sell the rights to your novel, the movie producer has the right to change certain aspects of it, but I'm disappointed that Ms. Kingsbury would allow the removal of faith in Christ.

On a positive note, I found the acting very good, especially by Mira Sorvino and Cole Hauser and I was impressed with Maxwell Perry Cotton as little Joey Campbell. I had a good cry throughout the movie. Would still recommend to others.

Wendy Porter (Mira Sorvino) calls the cops and sends her abusive drunk husband Rip (Barry Pepper) to prison. Seven years later, she's there to greet him upon his release. He has stopped drinking and is a changed man. She reveals to him that they have a son and she let him be adopted. The adoption paper was forged by somebody inside the prison and a judge annuls the adoption. Joey is ripped from his comfortable home and loving parents Jack (Cole Hauser) and Molly Campbell (Kate Levering).

The interesting thing here is that nobody is played as a pure villain. Everybody struggles in this movie. It's a losing proposition in any case. All four actors bring out some deep emotions. There are some real moments. The lack of one specific rooting interest does take a toll on the movie. This is a difficult but compelling watch.

I just watched this movie and had a hard time keeping a dry eye. The sad truth is there are cases similar to this going on in family court everyday..maybe not as extreme as this one (most kids are less than 6 years old) but fights between bio parents, foster parents and adoptive parents go on every day. This is an adoptive parents nightmare. I thought the performances by all were solid and very believable. The kid that played Joey is so cute and a good little actor. I really do not understand how people can bash this movie. They must not be adults, or parents for that matter. The subject matter is very surreal and let me tell you, I would have done the EXACT same thing as the adoptive parents did in this movie.

There were so many things to like about this movie and so many talking points.

While the movie was a little too stereo typed for my liking, stereo types exist for a reason.

I thought the Porter side of the story was extremely well done. Wendy Porter played the abused wife brilliantly, acting as abused and battered women often do.

I was perplexed as to why Wendy would want her biological son to live with her though. Perhaps the fact that her husband wanted the boy influenced her. After all, what is in the best interest of the child? What they went through with the boy, and their experiences was so well done it was very difficult to watch.

The Campbell's were the boy's adoptive parents and they were portrayed as such the perfect family, that you couldn't help but want the boy to stay with them. I found the way they acted, especially the way Holly Campbell reacted was a little too unrealistic but then again, I've never been in the position of potentially losing my child.

This is a powerful movie. Definitely one to stir the emotions.

"Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world" (Katie J. Davis, Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption).

I have selected this quote to open my review because it seems that the key aspect which underlines the 'message' of Jon Gunn's movie is adoption collaborating with redemption. Before getting into a variety of psycho-emotional development of captivating and educational human experience, it is important to state that at the heart of this movie is a 6 year old boy Joey (Maxwell Perry Cotton). This little character leads us into the inner world of child's fragile feelings which are put to test in two families: his real one and the adoptive one. However, the movie does not open with a child but a parent, Rip Porter (Barry Pepper) who is clearly a grown up but not a mature man. He is a psychologically wounded man who finds for himself a victim, his wife Wendy (Mira Sorvino). The opening mis-en-scene proves that assumption right. Marital violence within the marital status leads his wife to give up the upbringing of her newborn baby, her dreams appear to be in vain...yet, 7 years later, bad events may be turned into a renewed, redemptive reality no one would have ever predicted.

Not to reveal much about the content which really keeps viewer's attention, let me make myself clear about what I mean by 'captivating and educational human experience' The strongest point of LIKE DANDELION DUST is the powerful depiction of FEELINGS. This is neither a fake sentimentalism or any tear jerking hypnosis. You can find anything human in this story from nervous breakdowns, inner struggles, determination, honor to sacrifice, spiritual growth and redemption. How can a story brought to screen fail to captivate viewers when they see something that authentic? Four characters, two married couples provoke our insightful viewing into what a human character really is and into a prospect how they can change and what they may become...if only they want. Although Joey is at the center of attention, it is in the way they deal with him when we get to know them. But, this appears to be extremely important to mention: no judgment is being made, none of the characters is good or bad. These terms simply do not work, which makes it possible to make a starting point truly psychological. Let me focus on this point more deeply. But before this, consider the crucial aspect in all of them: ALL CHARACTERS CHANGE. Isn't that educational at the same time?

THE PORTERS: Being perhaps the least sympathetic of them all, Rip Porter is most memorable. His neurotic nature combined with addiction and prison experience do not allow him to be a good father to Joey and a good husband to Wendy. His fault is, consequently, the most serious one and yet, it is not his last chance. There is constantly an opportunity to change. Along with his character, there is a never ending theme of redemption indicated, so widely discussed in cinema from its very beginnings, just to mention THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE (1921). Rip, played vibrantly by Barry Pepper, supplies us with an intriguing insight into an unpredictable, furious addict with a slight bit of honor still left. His scenes with Wendy and Joey may shock at certain moments but when we constantly keep in mind the opening scene of the movie, it appears easier to justify his behavior or at least see a clear reason for why he is the way he is. Doesn't it appear parallel to real life? Wendy is a good loving mother; yet her status cannot allow her to be the way she dreams to be. Her sacrifice is the greatest and her struggles seemingly unendurable...consider the scene she tries to stop her husband from drinking.

THE CAMPBELLS: The adoptive parents are an absolutely different sort of family. While Jack is a settled down man of career and high financial status, he takes everything for granted. His offer to Rip that results in a fight is a beautifully psychological presentation of prefabricated materialist suggestions vs unpredictable eccentric outbursts. Money simply cannot interfere in the context like this and it cannot. Cole Hauser gives an adequate performance of a settled 'gentleman' and, at the same time, a 'requiring' husband. Molly is an absolutely different wife than Wendy is and clearly less prone to...determination. Doesn't our lifestyle with its conditions shape ourselves?

In between them comes a CHILD that renews, a CHILD that offers change, a CHILD that leads to sacrificial love, a CHILD that seems to know love more than the wisest elderly geniuses, a CHILD that does not need linguistic ornaments or legal regulations in order to realize where genuine feelings are. And this little CHILD brings something most desirable and yet so hard to achieve: redemption. That is, consequently, so trustworthy, that is so real and so unique about the film, so educational and so captivating. Maxwell Perry Cotton's performance is worth attention and can be considered as one of the great child achievements in cinema. Many scenes are so authentically played that you as a viewer may quite forget it is not a real story but only a film.

A highly recommended movie with clear redemptive psychology and trustworthy storytelling that is not only appealing to modern viewers but very thought provoking. There is a HUMAN solution to the tragedy of the broken world, after all.