Lembranças de Abril

I really enjoyed the film. I thought the actors were very believable and I laughed and cried with them as the story unfolded. I found it a good vehicle to begin a discussion with my grandchildren of the history of one of the most shameful things our country had done in our treatment of the Japanese during this time period. I wish the film had been longer. There were times that the continuity was missing and I had to wonder how we got to the current point. Since I have the video, I replayed some scenes.

This is a well-crafted and pleasant film - telling the growing up of four American childhood friends just after the attack on Pearl Harbour. While the four friends are consumed by playing being soldiers, a Japanese submariner washes ashore their beach. Initially thinking to become heroes, the boys detain the seriously wounded soldier. But is he truly an enemy of everything they hold dear?

Really fulfilling my admittedly optimistic expectation, April did not only turn out to be a wonderful tale of youth friendship, but also a pretty nice drama as well. The film - during many moments - brought back memories of Richard Donner's (and as far as I'm concerned Spielberg's) The Goonies. Growing up with friends, participating in a grand and exciting adventure, trying to do good. This is what April is about as well. While not ignoring to include sentimental scenes, the film skillfully prevents presenting huge clichés. The moments that were supposed to be powerful in the film work well. And besides being enjoyable and powerful, the film also manages to supply an important and true message as well.

The casting could not have been more wonderful. We are given a cast of four great kids, including a very impressive Trevor Morgan and star-becoming Haley Joel Osment. Morgan absolutely shines as the kid who's dealing with some scars of war, and he is fantastic in more than just a couple of scenes. He makes one very moving sequence in the film work truly well. Osment is giving a solid yet relatively small show as well - his character is of less importance in this story, but he's indeed rather memorable as Morgan's buddy.

While the story basically centers around the four boys and their Japanese 'prisoner', there are powerful other characters around as well. One of the boys' relatives, played by the late and wonderful Pat Morita, and Morgan's character's father have good screen presence.

As mentioned, April is a coming of age story packed with some dramatic elements, yet it remains light and easily viewable. Backed by a decent enough score, the film manages to touch the heart without any doubt. Probably Morgan's best role as a child actor, and one of Osment's cool early appearances on the silver screen, I'll Remember April is a must-see for fans of the genre. Growing up couldn't have been more fun.

Highly recommended.

This movie was very interesting.It is very appropriate for younger kids.Very good performences by all 4 kids.this movie taught me alot about racism and what happened during that time period. Congradulations to all the actors for a job well done but a special congrads to haley joel osment.

Being a Japanese-American myself, I must say that PRACTICALLY every comment on here is pointless or doesn't do this film justice. Especially, the one from the perv talking about having sex with and under-aged boy!!! ERASE THAT COMMENT! I cannot believe IMDb even posted such a comment! And who cares about the details, like the military truck driving around. This is not meant to be a historically accurate movie... it's the story and message that's important.

The movie was so touching and showed how, inspite of what was going on, not all people are bad because they're associated with a certain people. This is a message we can especially take into consideration now. It also showed the beautiful innocence of children and how they might be just as quick to judge, which is only because it's a trait learned from adults, but they let doing the right thing matter more. Something we as adults can learn a lesson from. There was a particularly sad portion of the story dealing with the internment camps. It brought the situation into a whole new light and showed how, I'm sure, it really was for some... People you grew up with your whole life, who were born and raised in America forced to leave their homes, friends, and jobs. What the Japanese did was wrong, yes. But the Americans bombed whole cities full of innocents with aftermath that killed for years. Plus, they stole the freedom of their own, in their own country, just because they were of Japanese descent. It's a heart-wrenching piece of history told in a story that anyone can relate to, not just those who were in the military. Highly recommended. 9 out of 10 only because the flow or editing of events was a little choppy.

Film brings to life a very bad point in our history, the internment of Americans of Japanese descent. Excellent performances by all 4 kids also showed that not all soldiers on the enemy side were monsters. It could have used a *LITTLE* balance (e.g. references to the atrocities being committed that caused the sentiment that the film shows), but the point made in the film was quite valid regardless. Recommended.