Un enfant pas comme les autres

I enjoyed this film very much. It touched on so many personal issues -self-worth, identity, need to connect to others through acceptance. Never conforming totally to what is expected of you... preserve the child within and against fear stepping forward to trust.

This film remains focused on the relationship between father and son. The other characters provide a balance of "emotional artwork" and never over shadow or distract from the primary quest. Will this child give up on his fantasy? Will the story take us on a ride? On the surface, this film masks as a typical story of the single parent needing to fill a void so he adopts a young foster child who has social issues. It remains emotionally balanced, yet reaches us in deeper places. We awaken to our core of unconditional love and deep desire to be unlimited in our power. It proves that we all have so much more inside than we ever tap into. A must see.

I was able to catch this film during a sneak preview a few weeks back. I really had no idea what the film would be about given I hadn't seen many trailers and only knew elements of the story from the synopsis I read of it on Rotten Tomatoes. So I went in with a pretty clean slate.

The film jumps right into things and doesn't really take a lot of pit stops. It charges forward with the story and I think that is the thing I appreciated the most about it. We are not weighted down with too much subplot and extraneous emotional scenes. We are given exactly what we need to form a connection with all the characters.

The film is changed some from the book that it is based on. Mainly that the lead character played by John Cusack is a widower rather than homosexual. In the end, it really doesn't matter the sexuality of the Cusack character, the connection he creates with his son is fantastic to watch develop. They are the same, though different in that one is grounded in reality and the other up in Mars some where. Both are individuals in a world that doesn't want different, the want everyone to do exactly as they are expected to.

Loved the film, will be a definite purchase come DVD time.

This film is about a widowed writer adopting a very difficult child. The child insists that he is from Mars, and is reluctant to have human contact.

"Martian Child" is a warm film that celebrates unconditional love. David's love and patience is constantly tested by Dennis' problematic behaviour. Through open communication, love and respect, they open their hearts to each other. Dennis is an adorable and clever character, even at a young age, he deals with rejection by rejecting others. He even makes up an elaborate story to make himself feel better. It is engaging and sad.

The book was fantastic! Folks are saying the movie was mushy, but the book was nearly autobiographic of David Gerrold, who is an amazing author. The Martian Child found a fantastic balance of emotion, humor, and a deep investigation of how we can be confounded by something that doesn't fit quite right in our perspective of normal.

Oddly, that is the problem of the movie, as it tries to remove many of the interesting aspects, such as that the father is single and gay, and in fact the task of trying to adopt while not being a heterosexual is almost heroic. While the major component of adopting a behaviorally confounding child is okay for a Saturday morning children's show, Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins omission of the gay component smacks of the worst kind of censorship because gosh, it may not make as much money, so the movie ends up partial drudge.

I found the interaction with the adopted son very faithful to the book - Bobby Coleman did a great job, and the Cusacks brought their usual amazing abilities that make any film glow. Again I complain of a wasted opportunity to make something extra special. I wish this could be remade with the same actors but a truer adaptation.

As a father/parent with five kids, I highly recommend all guardians of life see Martian Child. I'm personally a better person and have expanded my acceptance of others self-expression. We should all find, our voices and release the Martian Child within us. This is a special singular film in this CGI era. (FYI: I love CGI.) Martian Child balances out product driven entertainment with straight, direct to the soul, honest entertainment. This film has given me, the gift to give my own children much more room to be free, self-expressed and accepted exactly the way they are, and the way they are not. My wife is also enjoying the benefits. If they only knew, I'm simply seeing them as my Martian Child. See it, and find your inner Martian. Luis Moro, Never hide.