Secret of the Cave

Secret of the Cave (adapted from the beloved book) is an engaging tale of a young American boy finding mystery, friends, and a better view of life while spending time with some newly discovered relatives in a small town in Ireland.

Emphasizing good moral values, themes of unselfish service, and innocent fun--this movie is a great choice for your family's next movie night.

No particular Christian denomination is portrayed, so no have no worries about being introduced to any controversial theology.

The movie seems to move somewhat slowly, but as you watch it, you gain an appreciation for the gentle pace of life in this village; and it is appropriately echoed in the patient pace of the storyline.

Enjoy.

What do you do if you're a twelve year old boy, dumped by your dad at your uncle's place in a remote Irish village by the sea? Well, you go explore, naturally. And in "Secret Of The Cave", said exploration takes the form of investigating mysterious random acts of kindness by person, angel, or ghost unknown, that somehow relates to a nearby cave that is haunted, according to the locals.

This film has a lot going for it. It is beautifully filmed, with some great scenery. That majestic cave entrance is breathtaking. And the cave interior looks reasonably authentic. The film's casting and acting are acceptable. And production design is great, especially the inside of the village shop.

Reminiscent of all those Nancy Drew mysteries, "Secret Of The Cave" is harmless, diversionary fun aimed mostly at kids. The quest is to find or to discover some hidden treasure or uncover some secret.

In this film there is no violence, no sex, no repellent four-letter words, by design, I'm sure, a factor important to the film's target audience. What I found marvelously refreshing was the absence, the total absence, of ... television. Not one single scene showed a TV set. Wonderful!

The main weakness of the film is the script. Plot contrivances and convenient coincidences propel the plot, early on. In addition, the lead character (Roy) seems too composed and restrained, given the turmoil between his mom and his dad. Further, I do think the story's underlying inspirational theme is a tad overplayed. A little bit of sporting rebellion or general chaos would have added a touch of realism to a story that excels at good intent.

Overall, "Secret Of The Cave" is a technically well made film, one that has both entertainment value for kids, and an uplifting moral theme, appreciated by adults and especially parents with "heartland" values.

This is rather a mystery then an adventure Movie.

I am generally careful with movies where the main character is a little boy. There are good ones, like "tom sawyer", where you are with him the whole time, and his actions/reaction make sense. But most of these movies tend to have a mediocre acting main character. They often also have allot of scenes where i find myself thinking "why would he do that/go there/say this?". This movie belongs to this 2nd type.

Do not get me wrong, its a watchable movie, where many side characters are casted and acted great. But it has it long boring parts and there are the "what/why the ..." parts.

What me annoyed the most, is that the frame story is completely unconnected to the main plot, but for some reason it comes back and back into the movie. With no real influence.

(please excuse bad grammar, English is not my native language.)

The story deals with weighty subjects and foreign lands. Toss in mystery and mysterious goings-on and you have "Secret of the Cave."

The parents are having a dispute, and the father has a business meeting, so they pawn their son off on the uncle in Ireland. Before you know it, the kid is wrapped up in a mystery of a dead man that seems to still be doing good deeds.

We follow the clues and try to discover the secrets of the cave with the boy.

In the process, the boy comes of age. And we may learn something useful in our journeys through life. It follows the formula of a Joseph Campbell journey.

I too have just watched the movie and am very impressed with it. The message is uplifting and does not promote any one particular brand of Christianity; in fact, it is a message that anyone, Christian or not, can espouse simply as a moral person.

As for those who trash it just because it's Christian: the logo appearing at the beginning of the video clearly states that this was made by Seventh-day Adventists. So you know upfront that this will likely be a Christian-themed movie. You also know that you despise movies like this. So why oh why did you waste your time on it in the first place? But if you are looking for a good faith-based film that you can watch with your kids, this is an excellent choice.