Duas Vidas

When the first trailer for this film was viewed by myself, I was curious as to what angle the storyline would take. After all the plot of having one's childhood self return to the present leaves open many options. Bruce Willis however does a superb job in the role he was given. I was surprised to see just how well he could act in this part. This is also a good career move as many others have said but after seeing it I now agree. This film is mainly about remembering the kid you used to be, and coming to the realization that you aren't the adult you planned to be. This is a wonderful story and a gripping tale that makes us all think. Usually we scorn at "What if..." movies. For example, Waterworld attempted to answer the question "What if the world were to be covered with water and...?" But truthfully, nobody cared. This movie however effects everyone in the theatre. True, young children may not fully grasp the idea of growing up and having all your dreams fizzle away, but it leaves a great impact on the adults and parents of those children. This movie is definitely worth seeing. Although, it will be better the second time around because you won't be thinking so much (about how the kid got there, and why and all that stuff) Just relax and have fun. And take something with you when you leave that cinema. Take that piece of your childhood you've forgotten and enjoy it.

The surprise is not how good this film turns out to be. With Willis coming off of "Sixth Sense" and Jean Smart and writer Audrey Wells following up on the underappreciated "Guinevere", I suspected there just might be something going on here. The surprise is how what is being pushed as a Disney kid's film is actually a funny, moving and rather mature fable about losing touch with the child you were and the adult you wanted to be. The kids in the audience were restless. The parents were laughing...and a few even sniffling. Not a great film, but a darn good one, with a message that will probably go over the heads of anyone under 30.

I saw this on a plane. You know, you are strapped to a chair and forced to watch whatever garbage they put up there.

And I have to say I actually had fun. Some scenes are sugary and over the top but the kid's performance is above average for children actors. Casting was perfect.

One thing though: the music is inappropriate, heavy-handed and sometimes ruins the scenes. It is like asking Richard Wagner to write for an intimate comedy. Very weird.

But I strongly recommended the movie to my mom. It is that kind of movie.

The Kid - At 39 years old Russel Duritz has a life that most men would envy - he has a great job, is respected (and feared), has a beautiful house and makes buckets of money. But everything comes at a cost, in this case no social life, no conscience and a fear of spending the rest of his life alone. He just needs someone to show him the way.

As I watched the movie, I kept wondering why Disney didn't pass this film on to Miramax - not because it's particularly daring or edgy, but because it is clearly a movie for adults. This is exacerbated by the marketing campaign which is clearly targeting children - it is lumped in with trailers for "Rugrats the Movie", and "Pokemon 2000" (aren't they passe yet?). But I quibble.

I was impressed by the sensitive treatment of the subject matter - rather than the typical male midlife crisis that involves some pathetic sap buying a Porsche convertible and acting like a moron, Willis' character undertakes some serious introspection and takes stock of his life. His guide on this journey of self-discovery is himself at age 8 (they never explain how Rusty arrives and frankly, I didn't care). Young Rusty's innocence and unbridled optimism give him a distinct advantage in divining the truth - he sums up Russell's job as an image consultant thusly, "You teach people how to lie and pretend to be something they aren't". In order for a good script to succeed, however, you need actors to bring it to life. Not a problem here.

Although Willis has thrice ignored W.C. Fields' warnings about starring with children or animals he has lucked out once again, meshing as well comedically with Breslin as he did dramatically with Osment. Willis manages to balance Russell's cutthroat powerbroker traits with vulnerability and confusion, without becoming ridiculous. Breslin meanwhile gives a dead on portrayal of a kid from everyone's childhood - the one that always stuck out for some reason and got picked on. We also get two bonus performances: Lily Tomlin is great as Russell's levelheaded assistant and Jean Smart is perfect as an insightful charming anchorwoman (I loved her in "Guinevere").

The Kid is charming, heavy, and real. And it will appeal to adults of all ages.

I have been always wondering "Can one truly explain the meaning of life in less than two hours?" And here I got the answer after watching this movie for 3 times. This is certainly one of the greatest films I've ever seen. Disney tries to make the film in an interesting and lovely way so it can appeal to both the kids and the adults. But what lies behind the film by far beyond the comprehension of a normal kid. Here, let's first look at how other comments put it: `The movie starts by completely neglecting even an attempt at explaining how 8-year-old Rusty shows up on 40-year-old Rusty's doorstep" But this is not true. Actually the film made a hard work demonstrated how Russ (Willis) --a successful image consultant and a rich jerk was haunted by the hallucination of a flying plane which was actually the same kind of a model given to him by his father as a present. Here Audey Wells present all the viewers a question as a shrimp in the later plot suggested it: you're having hallucination for a reason and you need to figure out what that reason is.But at that time, the film is not in a hurry to explain the reason. Later on Ross's hallucination got stronger and he even imagined a boy intruded into his house. Even more the hallucinated boy lead him to an old drome. From there Ross's dream or more accurately the psychiatric journey of exploring himself began. That exploration filled most of the film till the 8-year-old Rusty disappeared on the same drome (notice only at that time Russ's clothes changed back to the sleeping pajama). The main part of the film (that's what I called the exploration) centered on the questions that had puzzled Russ these days: What's wrong with him? Why he always said somebody call the Ouaaaaaaaaambulance? Why he had a twitch? What happened from being little Rusty and becoming Russ? What will be supposed to do with the relation with Amy? And finally what he will be doing in the later time of his life? The film did an excellent job in explain all these questions. Evenmore it raised another question: Is Russ really a loser? Here Jean Smart said something very inspiring: I mean how many of us grow up to be astronauts or prima ballerina? We just all do the best we can. This film presented the normal theme of midyear crisis in a swift and clever way without lacking of provoking thought.The main character especially Bruce Willis and Jean Smart worked very well to helped achieve visual effect as well as the profound theme.Russ got the answer and know what to do next, what about us?