Hiver 42: Au nom des enfants

"Edges of the lord" is a low-budget World War II drama about an intelligent young Jewish boy, geniusly portrayed by Haley Joel Osment, who is seperated from his parents in the very beginning of the film by the Nazis, invading Poland. The boy is sent, kicking and screaming, to relatives living in a captured village far from the larger communities. There he integrates with the family under hard prohibition from revealing that he is a Jew. He bonds especially with the youngest son of his host family, the imaginative and charismatic Tolo, who is played to excellence by newcomer Liam Hess, and his older brother Vladek (Richard Banel). As the plot moves forward we see the Nazi oppression of the Polish farmers and one of many faces of war: betrail and looting of prisoners of war, even by the Polish locals. Osment's character is, for the first time, demanded to go to church, read Christian psalms and hide his Jewish origin. The local priest, played by Willem Dafoe, offers him an alternative by schooling him separately and letting him perform the Christian traditions as a sole appearance. The story is full of moral choices and dilemmas that gets you thinking about, although not very sympathetic, for the characters' situations in life. This movie has shown me nothing more than what I have already seen. Many outstanding performers are fighting the edgeless script and make the film worth seeing. Perhaps expectations were set to high, but I would only be able to give this interesting flop a 7 for really good acting and an interesting theme.

I caught this unknown film on Polish television last night and was blown away. The following day as I write this I'm still haunted about some of the scenes towards the end.

With an excellent blend of Polish and international actors and actresses, this tale of the loss of childhood innocence during WW2 is as powerful and memorable as Schindler's List or the Pianist, and is certainly not for young children.

While Osmont's performance is great, it is Liam Hess as the young Tola who steals the film, a true innocent who longs to understand what it was like to be Jesus, an amazing characterisation by such a young boy.

There are moments of lovely humour in the film as you'd expect watching the innocent/stupid/naive things kids do, but the last thirty minutes are quite shocking and emotionally draining.

Congratulations to writer/director Yurek Bogayevicz and all involved, for a powerful piece of filmmaking.

You know something? It's a bit of a pity that "Edges of the Lord" doesn't get the deserved attention from the press, critics and people in general. That happens in part because of its poor marketing and propaganda. The film should also have a better distribution around the world.

I like Haley Joel Osment. At first I only saw this movie for curiosity because Haley is in it. I don't even like war movies. But this one is actually a good surprise inside its genre.

This isn't like the majority of war films. Comparing to others of its kind, this one is soft when it comes to the Holocaust's horrors and violence (although it still is disturbing). But in general, this is more of a drama that takes place during the World War II in the early 1940's. It's a human movie, a story of braveness, survival, sacrifices and also about learning to accept and respect the other people. It also has some funny moments, such as the hilarious pig fart scene!

"Edges of the Lord" takes place in Poland, the country where it was filmed. One of its attributes is the natural beauty of the sceneries and landscapes: a beautiful village, lakes, trees, mountains and green places. The music is beautiful. It's a touching movie either, not just another Holocaust movie.

Haley Joel Osment and Willem Dafoe are the best known actors of this film. They're American. The others are mostly polish actors but not without a Canadian one (Richard Banel) and an English one (Liam Hess).

The fabulous Haley Joel Osment once again proves his exceptional talent and, along with the other actors, he speaks with a very convincing polish accent.

The other actors have terrific performances too, especially the kids: Liam Hess as Tolo, Richard Banel as Vladek and Ola Frycz as Maria. As for the adult actors, Olaf Lubaszenko is great as Gniecio, as well as Willem Dafoe as the Priest. The director Yurek Bogayevicz did a great job with this American-polish special production.

As for the characters, Tolo is a loving but very strange little boy. Vladek starts by being a hateable brat who's always mistreating Romek, but as the movie runs we end up liking him, because he changes his bratty attitudes, becomes a good boy and finally accepts Romek, becoming his friend and even rescues him when he needs to. Romek is the cutest and most loving kid but also a boy who is thought to disguise in perfection his religious roots. Maria is a pretty and provoking girl who also becomes a better person as the movie runs. Who I never like at all are that awful Kluba and his sons: Pyra and, most of all, that horrible Robal.

Haley has brought another movie to life, but this time he is not the only young actor to give a truly moving performance. Liam Hess really takes on Tolo's emotions and brings them out expertly to give a very convincing performance. One of England's hidden talents. The casting worked well with talent from Canada, USA, England, & Poland all coming together to create a movie that was a delight to watch. Look out for Haley's father/coach who also takes a small role in the movie. I liked the movie's originality, beautiful setting and realism. A classic, and one that you will not quickly forget.

I rented this film because I am a fan of Osmet. I was surprised by the performances of almost all the child actors in this film. Liam Hess stole the show. I would have rated this film higher, but the story seemed to meander with no real point at times. The film is very dark and somber throughout but what would you expect from a "holocost" film. The central story is about two boys (one jew and one catholic) who end up living together and experiencing some of the atrocities perpetrated on the jews during WWII by the Germans. The Catholic boy (Liam Hess), who is receiving teachings from the local priest before his first communion decides to mimic the life of Jesus (for what reason I'm not sure) and draws all the other local children into his game. As the film progresses, the story becomes more serious and the Tolo's "games" become more realistic.