Hide Your Smiling Faces

The plot is about two brothers experiencing grief, and dealing with death for the first time.

There wasn't much dialogue, there were a lot of silent scenes, and for me that's what made it even more powerful, because the movie was about asking questions in a time where you didn't have the answer, and I liked that.

The soundtrack was so soothing and beautiful.

The movie was beautifully shot. I really enjoyed its cinematography.

The cast is rather bland. I know it's supposed to be a dark, brooding film, and it is indeed that. But the lack of talent on the actor's part is very noticable. The story is good though, despite some serious writing flaws and dialogue that's just flat most of the time. Plus it's just way too long. This could've been condensed easily into a 60 minute movie. Despite all this though, I kept wanting to know what was going to happen. I'll never watch this again, but I did enjoy it even though it was riddled with glaring faults. That's rare for me. The music was appropriate and atmospheric and not a distraction. The visuals, especially nature, were stunning.

This movie has a great story line and should have been one that endured the ages to be watched many times over. Regretfully, the movie was produced and directed in a manner not befitting the story. It was long, drawn out, unconnected, and without any dialogue. I have no idea what the producers and directors could have been thinking to have spent so much money, time, and effort in making this movie and fail to provide the viewer a worthy of this wonderful story. The acting of the boys, when they did speak, was good. The long, silent scenes of the boys doing nothing but begin together and romping around left us bored and UN-engaged. Very sad waste of time.

Tommy's getting older, so now his teenage brother Eric can teach him to be a man. It's a slow change at first, but a tragedy speeds up the process. Something even Eric isn't ready for as an older brother. Possibly even making him go through the exact same emotions as Tommy.

The film was made just past my childhood/teenage years, but it was timeless enough. It could be set in any year, at least within the past two decades, and still remind the viewer of their own summer experiences.

The story is set in a rural area of New Jersey, so I might be biased as I grew up in a suburban Connecticut town. Tri state area to the core, but the film could easily be set in a different state. There are very little markers of it's location, and at its heart the plot is about two brothers growing closer over one long summer.

It's hard to know how to review this film other than to say I enjoyed it. It is beautifully shot, well acted, atmospheric and, for everyone who was once a boy growing up, painfully nostalgic. There is not really a lot of plot to speak of and at the end of the movie I was left wondering what it was all about. I guess it's just about boys being boys becoming men and, along the way, dealing with life, its tragedies, disappointments, puzzles, mysteries and the friends and family that are on the journey with you. That doesn't sound like anything too startling, but it still makes for a captivating movie here.