Coragem e Esperança

This movie is fantastic, one of the best I have ever seen in a long time. I was surprised to see that it is from 1997 because until I turned onto BBC2 today, I had never even heard of it.

Although this is a simple, some say linear story of Nazi Germany vs the Jewish community telling of one boys struggle to survive on his own to wait for his father, it really draws you in.

In the same vein as movies like DARYL, or Finding Neverland, it does not rely cheap gimmicks. Instead we find a gripping a story that draws you in. You become attached to the characters and really feel for them. It stirs up quite a bit of emotion. I was dancing all over the room at one point biting my nails.

This is a fantastic story with some brilliant acting. The main focus is on Alex, played by Jordan Kiziuk. Im surprised he hasn't done anything before or since as he played a brilliant part, even if his accent is a little dodgy.

The director has done a fantastic job in the telling of the story. It is one of those underrated films that you must watch if you ever get a chance.

i was a little uncertain when i was first introduced to this film...my friend had bought it and it really didn't seem interesting, i mean come on...another nazi v. jew film but i was surprised...

this story is origional following a little boy who is left alone and is being hunted by the nazi's. his courage comes from a book and his best friend is a little mouse named snow...

the story follows the boy as he decides to wait in dangerous territory for his father, whom although was taken away, promised to return...

this is a touching story and a great chapter for anyone iterested in this tragic time period...

This story was great. I was on the edge of my seat worried for the boy the whole time. It brought out a strong emotional response considering there is so little dialog. Almost as good as Schindlers List if not so much an epic. Makes you want to go after the Nazi's yourself. Because of the Nazi's this boy endures and is forced to do things that a Little boy should never have to do. He survives only due to his ingenuity, bravery, and the compassion of a few that don't agree with what the Nazi's are doing to Jews in Poland. A must see, but bring your Kleenex. It has very little dialog, but the visual story and the music set the mood.

Not least because it is apparently a true story. Alex is an 11 year old boy, stuck in an almost empty city awaiting his father's return. The plot, though slow is tense, holding an audience's attention throughout. What I most liked about this film was the sense of realness, as I watched it(though the language was English) I felt that somehow I was in fact watching an actually documentary as it unfolded. the clothes the sets the streets, everything was real. The acting is so well performed I could easily assume that these were real people, in particular Jordan Kiziuk's performance of Alex. The ending was tear-jerking, and I mean big blobby tears that swam in torrents. It was an all-round wonder to watch.

Director Soren Kragh-Jacobsen sure picked his young protagonist well -- Jordan Kiziuk as Alex in the Danish film "The Island on Bird Street" practically carried the film by his undeniably superb performance. The film is about a Jewish young boy, bordering teens, his survival "adventure" in Poland during Nazi occupation.

How heartwarming can an uneasy wartime premise be? It actually achieves beyond "Jakob the Liar" -- Alex's courage, his creative ways in taking care of himself when he's all alone, his tenacity and steadfast belief that his Dad would come back for him…hold its own. And there is suspense: we fear for him, we want him to succeed, we pain, and we felt angst and joy with him. The set of his hide-out is somehow graphically appealing: a solitary, broken brick wall arrangement, with atmospheric lighting, and momentary interludes: a solitary dog on a street, paper off the ground dancing in the wind…

Music is by Zbigniew Preisner (Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Trois couleurs: Bleu" 1993, "Rouge" 1994, "The Double Life of Veronique" 1991, also "Fairy Tale: A True Story" 1997), hauntingly complements the plot. This may not be of Hollywood stature likened to "The Schindler's List", yet it's a small film with powerful impressions. It's a life-affirming story. Alex hanged on to hope -- we can, too.