Pour une vie meilleure

I laughed and I cried. This movie was so powerful and tells such a wonderful story of survival and determination. The acting was wonderful. A true inspiration. The fact that this is based on a true story makes it even more wonderful.

I remember hearing about Liz Murray on Oprah back in 2004. I also remember she was the first recipient of Oprah's Chutzpah award and was inspired by her story. Naturally, it was only right of me to be curious about the film made about her life, and since I was not able to see it back then, I decided to fork out the money to buy the actual movie online last year. I'm so glad I did because it truly is one of the most inspirational films I've seen. The film has no pretense about it, it doesn't paint Liz Murray as this big heroine or self-pitying sermonizer, her story just was what it was - she realized her situation and took steps to eventuate to success out of grand resilience. She overcame a great deal of hardship to make it out telling her story to the world. Anecdotes that really convey her situation; about doing her homework on the subway train, juggling twice the amount of course work, trying to deal with her family situation of drug-addicted parents, shoplifting self help books and of course it goes without saying - being homeless.

The performances are terrific, especially Thora Birch - off the back of her comedic role in Ghostworld - really shows her range here and her portrayal is determinedly solemn. Also, an honorable mention to the girl who plays young Liz.

I'm also glad this story wasn't made into some big Hollywood production - it would have come across too schmaltzy.

I was really moved by this story, even more so when I realised it was based on a true story! I thought that Thora's acting as Liz was really great and she had me routing for Liz to pull through and make it.

It was really inspiring (so much so that I wrote a song straight after watching it!) and it teaches that you should never give up on yourself. OK, so Liz made it to Harvard and not everyone will be that lucky, but Harvard isn't for everyone and the message is really to set yourself a goal that you think you just might be able to attain and then go for it!

It was a shame that UK television saw fit not to put it on at a reasonable time as it was aired late on Monday night and finished after 1:00am. I really only caught it by chance, but was very glad that I did.

One of the few movies I've seen that truly talks about the problems that many societies around the globe are suffering from. It also goes to show you how far you can go if you are determined on something. So, you can really make a change if you put your mind into it. And it goes to show you that there is always hope for a better tomorrow. You just have to work hard for it. We all face problems of various degrees. But whatever the problem may be, we can face it with strong belief and strong will. Be someone and make your life and all the world around you a better place. I loved the movie, the story, the music, and, on top of all, the performance of Thora Birch. In my opinion, it is a must see.

Generally, made for television movies are on a level below theatrical endeavors. However, `Homeless To Harvard' is a surprising and welcome exception. Without question it is one of the best made for television movies ever produced. This true story of Liz Murray continually strikes your primal emotional chord throughout the movie. The story is told in a stark realistically convincing manner. Excellent performances are turned in by Jennifer Pisana and Thora Birch as Liz at slightly different ages and by Kelly Lynch as Liz's alcoholic and drug addicted mother Jean. Unfortunately, the world has an ample supply of dysfunctional parents. Most often, their own children use them as an excuse to be equally dysfunctional. How uplifting to have a child use their parent's dysfunctional behavior, not as an excuse to sink into oblivion, but rather as a reason to not follow in their footsteps. This movie is all about choices. Anyone of any age who watches this movie will be left with absolutely no excuse to wallow in self pity. While this movie is a remarkable endeavor, it could have been even better. Understandably you can only fit so much content into a movie. Moreover, I'm certain that the writers included all of the key elements of Liz's life. However, this movie would have stood in a class by itself if only they had delved into Liz's true character. They did an exceptional job of depicting the decadent life that she was subject to, her reactions to it, and her existence within it. However, you don't get to see inside of Liz to actually know what she's all about. In addition, I sensed that we were shown a slightly whitewashed portrait of Liz in contrast to her true self. I suspect that she was in fact a little less innocent and a little more tarnished and troublesome than she was portrayed to be. If there's one unanswered question lingering on viewer's minds, it has to be: Why, after overcoming such insurmountable adversity, did she end up leaving Harvard? All that aside, 'Homeless To Harvard' is truly a triumph of the human spirit movie. This will be a treasured prize for your DVD/VHS collection when it becomes available.