Once in a Blue Moon

If there's one theme of this film, it's that people can cope with hardship by having a good imagination. This family is poor, their father works graveyard, and their mother works double-shifts, and Peter is constantly picked on for a variety of reasons, and becomes increasingly frustrated that he is often mistaken for a girl. He is just starting to approach that age of 10 or 11 where your perceptions start to change, and thinks like your appearance start to matter. The backdrop of this story is the 1967 World's Fair and the Centennial of Canada. The film's greatest moments come during the various fantasy sequences where we see just how they cope. Watch the flim, and if you've ever had a childhood friend that you dreamt with, and then for some reason, lost, you'll really like this film. Perhaps kids will like this film, but only adults will truly appreciate it, including its references to bolshevik's and what parent's will do for their children.

Yes, all Canadien films are exactly like this. They're all made for children under 12, have at least one Native American in it and are liberally filled with fantasy sequences . I saw Gigli the other day; are all American films just like that one? Aside from that, I thought the film was pretty entertaining for the kids.

The chronology was all wrong however. The film takes place during Canada's centennial,1967; yet, we have references to Pierre Trudeau, who was only Justice Minister at the time and unlikely to be on the radar of commie hating six packers; also coverage of the Apollo missions predate the actual moon shots by two years. The biggest howler was that they had at least three English TV channels in a rural area. CBC was pretty much it at the time

"Once in a Blue Moon" is an obscure comedy-fantasy-drama that is aimed for mostly children. Your children most likely missed this one when it played in theaters (if it played in theaters), but they are given several opportunities to view it as it comes on such cable movie stations as HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. Will they like it? Hard to tell...the kids in the movies are pretty sweet. There is Peter Piper(what's the point of giving a character such a stupid name?), a sensitive, artistic little boy(I think the kids are about ten), who is blessed with "delicate" features, and longish curly hair. To add to this, his family hasn't a lot of money, so Peter must wear the hand-me-downs of his older sister to school each day(attire includes red bell bottom pants and a puffy "peasant style" shirt with pretty red flowers--what kind of a mother is this?). Needless to say, he is somewhat of a social outcast, but lucky for him, a friend comes along, an interesting, Indian(Native American, but this was set in the late 60's or early 70's or something, and they didn't call him that) kid called Sam Cardinal. Peter and Sam bond instantly, and together they play each day, outsmart the (utterly annoying)town bully and some other meanies that tease them. During one of these teasings, they decide to build a rocket ship, and well, they do(since this is a fantasy film and all). Interesting stuff happens during their build and after, that kids could get into, but it's a vaguely dim-witted story and some parts of it are just mind-boggling. For instance, each and every fantasy sequence is not explained, so it plain does not make sense(a husband and wife embrace, and the husband reaches into the sky and pulls down and twinkling star...and they go onto the next scene.)Also some scenes are tossed in without much effect(Children in a school literally laugh at Peter and elude him for no appearant reason, making him resort to the solitude of color a picture while "Classical Gas" plays beautifully in the background...and then they go onto the next scene)and some scenes with the bully and such other supporting characters lower the intelligence level of this film. All in all, it's passable entertainment, if nothing else.

I highly reccommend this movie. It blurs the line between childhood fantasy and everyday reality in such a seamless fashion that it has to be seen to be believed. The actors and director have such perfect timing that in one scene a name calling fight becomes a sort of dance. I loved the story line, the actors, everything. While I do think there were one or two decidedly cheesy scenes, over-all the movie was impeccably done.

This delightful film is often overlooked due to it's Canadian origins. However young Serpa more than makes up for any doubts you might have. Serpa shines as the imaginative youngster who takes his stern father's old motorcycle and a few spare parts from a nearby junkyard and builds every kid's dream come true. With a little help from his foster brother, (Baker) he gets the neighborhood bully involved in his project as an unwitting guinea pig. From there the plan goes according to schedule, with the bully chickening out in the end and Baker taking his place to the admiration and surprise of the other neighborhood children. The deaf older sister is very good, and adds a dimension of humanity and emotional depth this comedy might otherwise lack. But it's Cody Serpa who carries the film all the way. The parental figures, Milligan and MacDonald are just window dressing. The story is well told, and amply supplied with laughs and even a few tears. I loved it, my kids loved it, and even their grandfather enjoyed the film. Definitely worth seeing. May even teach kids there is nothing wrong with imagination, as long as it is coupled with ingenuity and hard work. I give it a 6.5 and I hope to see young Cody Serpa in another film.