La mémoire volée

I found the title to this little known classic while scanning through Elijah Wood's filmography. It was, in fact, the title that jumped out at me the most. I decided I had to see it. After searching through two different rental places in my area I finally found it. I must admit I didn't know what to expect. There were many aspects of the film which intrigued me. Most of all I loved the fact that for 75% of the film you're very unclear as to what Elijah Wood's character is experiencing. This actually mirrors his character's whole role in this film. Both viewer and character are confused and disoriented, thrown into a strange world where dying and terminally ill children are the only company. This brings a unique bond between audience and Barney Snow (Wood) because we are forced to experience his incomprehension. I thought that the acting in this film was on target. Everyone from Elijah Wood to Jeffrey Force was just brilliant. Both Joe Perrino and Elijah Wood have the most expressive eyes and they utilize this gift to really tug the viewer's heart. Though some parts of this film came across a little on the cheesy side, I really found it spectacularly done and completely captivating.

When I first came across this movie at the video store, I had previously heard nothing about it; however, the storyline interested me, and I was also familiar with both Elijah Wood and Rachael Leigh Cook.

As indicated in others' comments, the storyline depicts Barney Snow [Elijah Wood], a young man who is the only "non-terminal" patient in an experimental hospital for terminally-ill youngsters. He is initially advised by the doctor [Janeane Garofalo] to remain "detached" as he encounters the other patients. However, before long he develops friendships with several of them --- Allie, a young kid who stutters and has some sort of brain disease; Billy, a wisecracking but honest kid (he appears to me that he is in his teens) with a kidney disorder; and Alberto a.k.a "Mazzo", who appears to be around Barney's age, acts somewhat hostile and has bone cancer. Barney especially develops a close bond with Mazzo's fraternal twin sister Cassie [Rachael Leigh Cook], to whom he regularly reports Mazzo's condition as Mazzo won't see her when she visits.

The title comes from the notion that a bumblebee is able to fly even though scientifically its wings are too small, and this is the basis of the experiment being done on Barney.

Although I found the movie somewhat slow-moving, and the storyline sometimes unrealistic as he learns the truth of why he is there, I still enjoyed it. I like sensitive storylines, and even though I generally prefer they be a little less serious than what this was, this movie still ranks as one of my favorites. It was also the first time I had seen Elijah Wood in a role other than in a "cute little kiddie" or "teeny-bopper" movie, and I thought he did an excellent job. He and Rachael Leigh Cook seemed to work well together.

I wouldn't recommend this to everyone --- if you prefer something more upbeat, you probably would not like this movie. However, I would advise anyone who thinks this seems even remotely interesting to give it a chance.

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway is a mysterious maze of a movie, twisting and turning throughout its hour and a half time span. What you see is what you believe, and what you believe is what becomes reality. This is mind over matter. Despite the laws of aerodynamics, bumblebees can fly. These concepts are the basis for an experiment involving Barney Snow.

Barney Snow (Elijah Wood) is a young man with amnesia. He cannot remember anything prior to his arrival at a small experimental hospital, and some days, he even has trouble remembering his own name. He is the only amnesia patient in a hospital for terminally ill children, so the doctor warns him to remain detached.

Such a warning is hard to heed when Barney's home (and all he remembers) is the hospital. Naturally, the other patients become friends, even family to him. His new friends include Billy (George Gore II), a boy with a kidney disorder inherited from deceased parents, and Mazzo (Joe Perrino), a young man with bone cancer. Mazzo's twin sister, Cassie (Rachael Leigh Cook), comes to visit her brother, and meets Barney.

Barney's relationships are truly beautiful. He is not rude or condescending to the others in the hospital-nor does he seem to pity them. He takes them for their personalities, looking beyond face value. Even though Mazzo is constantly angry about his disease and projects this at Barney, the two share an amazing bond. Barney won't stop trying with Mazzo. When Mazzo gets mad at Barney, Barney doesn't pity him-he exchanges tense banter. They are real characters; they have human traits, beliefs, and struggles. Billy, the boy with the kidney problem, is a stoic, sarcastic, and even humorous child with something to say about everyone and everything. He ignores his own disease, but he doesn't deny it. His sarcasm provides a way of dealing with his problems. Finally, there is the element of romance, coming into play with Cassie and Barney. This is a subtle, effective romance, one that makes sense and moves at the right pace. Both Cassie and Barney are at crossroads in their lives, and this is reflected in their time together.

The film itself is a pensive piece. The maze that it is must be solved before it makes sense, but then it does. Every twist and turn are accounted for finally. The last approximately twenty minutes are truly outstanding. It shows something about human nature and the reality of life.

I took interest in this movie because I had purchased the book before I had even known there was a movie made of it. Movies are always different than the books, so I decided to stick with the book and read it to the end before I should rent the movie version. It took me a little while to get used to Robert Cormier's style of writing but once I got into the book, I couldn't put it down. After I got used to the style of writing, it was all I knew, wanted to know, and wanted to expect. I also couldn't put the book down because of the plot development and the story as a whole. But on a different note, let's forget the story line for a moment - I'd like to say that this book is wonderfully written. It just is. Cormier didn't just come up with a story and pull you through the book just to get to the point of it. The journey itself through each page is awesome. Barney is the most developed character because, even though it is third person, we go through his life along side him, we discover his thoughts and feelings - which I think Cormier did the most excellent job of writing in the book. Barney isn't some cheesy character. He has thoughts , feelings, and insecurities like real human beings have and just the way it is written really connected me to it and prompted introspection. At first I was really dissatisfied with the ending, thinking it was abrupt, but the more I thought about it, the way it ended (where it was at) was a good ending. It led us to assume the future without having Cormier tell us, which makes the book very good - because it makes US think about it days afterwards instead of having Cormier tell us "and that was that...the end."

Now the movie itself was OK. My opinion is most likely different from someone else's who has just seen the movie with no prior reading. The story in the movie is similar, but I don't like the way they went about converting the story into a movie. I knew first off that the movie could never be as good as the book (as most movies are) because it is unable to be as detailed and can't successfully develop Barney's character and definitely could not show us his thoughts. But what bothered me most about the movie was not only was it missing things, but it changed ideas around - almost as if the screenplay writer had confused ideas brought up in the book. There are too many for me to explain, though. Also, they could have cast more appropriate actors. I'll just show a few examples. Barney in the book was brown-eyed, bowlegged and insecure. Cassie was in her twenties, blond and blue eyed and was "out of Barney's league" considering the age difference and the situation of it all. Also, a major point made in the book was the difference between Mazzo and Barney. Mazzo was blond and beautiful. Even though his disease was apparant on his body, it never took away his handsomeness. Barney contemplated that Mazzo's beauty was going to waste, while, he, a not handsome, bowlegged boy was not ill and was going to live. A big change which I didn't like was with "the Handyman". He was a man in the book who is much less open and caring towards Barney which contributed to the atmosphere of the Complex and what Barney is going through. The movie softened it up for viewers having it be a caring women who keeps Barney's well-being in mind. I also think the director could have done better. For example, Billy the Kidney could barely walk when he was out of his wheel chair and everytime Barney talked to him, Billy had this look of pain in his eyes, which he never complained about the disease despite the fact he whined about everything else. In the movie he is different - once again, softened up. Also Allie Roon was very spastic constantly moving and stuttering. Allie in the movie was toned down version.

I can't say who would prefer the book or the movie. I prefer the book because it is much more complete, isn't afraid to tell you every detail or hide the darkness of the Complex. The movie has less of that and gives us a happier ending. Barney is very depleted in his life, but even the book can show you (in a much more complete way) he still strives for hopes and accomplishes dreams, which makes him all the more of a character to root for. But this is just the tip of the iceberg of what I am trying to say.

Read the book and see for yourself.

Really, there isnt much to say about this one. So why say anything at all? I don't know. What I do know is that I felt nothing for this film. It contained an incredibly awkward kissing scene between Elijah and Rachel Leigh Cook. I had to look away. I still don't understand why their characters felt so passionately about one another. This kiss seemingly came out of nowhere. Boom. I cannot comprehend why people like Janeane G. and Elijah W. would sign on to it. Perhaps the script changed mid-shoot, or the script looked like a good idea on paper. For some reason I don't want to assign blame to anyone but the writer and director. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure this is the third movie with Elijah Wood in it that involves a) a junkyard and b) building something from that junkyard (see The War and Radio Flyer for further examples of this). Perhaps his character also jumps on or off a bicycle mid-pedal too (cf. Deep Impact, Radio Flyer, Flipper). Why have I seen so many EW movies? I have deep respect for Frodo. But I have to say, I wouldnt even rent this one.