Film 66: "Stand By Me"

Watching films is difficult. I just got back from America, where I failed to see any of the films I was gonna catch up on, but hey, there was a DVD from lovefilm in the post, and I had two hours in between meetings and prep, so I gave it a whirl.

Synoahpsis:

Basically, 4 kids hear about a dead body lying near the railway tracks some 30 miles away, and resolve to lie to their parents, take some camping stuff and walk there to see it. For some reason, I thought this was the source of the parody/film archetype of someone getting their foot stuck in some train tracks as a freight train comes raging forth, so I spent the whole movie waiting for someone to get hit. That didn't happen.

Instead, I got to see some really interesting character development happen as these 4 twelve-year-old boys embark on a grim yet joyus adventure. It was awesome to see them connecting in new ways, struggling together and coping with difficulties from their personal which parallel what happens to them in the adventure. Still waiting for that train though.

The best bit:

Probably the ending... starting from when they make it back home till when the credits roll. It wasn't mega happy, but it was good and it was exactly the way the film should have ended.

Marks out of ten:

For a fairly but not greatly interesting story interspersed with great dialogue, a fine ending and some harrowing moments throughout, I'd put the film at 7.5