Review of The Door in the Floor (2004) by Adam A — 05 May 2006

These movies are some of my favorites. I have watched them all several times and always find them touching and beautiful odes to the family drama.

[b][i]Imaginary Heroes[/i][/b] is amazing. Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch should totally have gotten Oscars for their performances here in this movie. They really do shine. This is a powerful drama with a sad story. It is about a family dealing with the suicidal death of their oldest son. I have to say that they were very real in the portrail of this family and what they were going through. It is touching to see them fall apart and try to work together to put the family back together. I was surprised by the ending and haunted by it. It stucks with me everytime I watch it. I have to say that I really do not know how to put it really without giving anything away, but I do have to say that it really made me think. I have thought about it for a while now and still do not know how I would have acted in the same situation. I don't think that I would have been a hero either. Watch it.

[b][i]Bee Season[/i][/b] was another great film about family. It is about a family that seems very normal on the outside to everyone else, but they are falling apart at the seams. The acting here was amazing by all of them. I was totally blown away by Flora Cross. She was great and I couldn't believe it, but she was as good as the adult actors. I watched this because Juliette Binoche was in it and she is a favorite actor of mine and here she was as good as always. I was totally surprised by what was going on with her character and she really drew you into it. Most people will think that it is some boring movie about spelling. Don't think that. It really isn't. I cannot spell at all (I was the one that was always the first one out in my classroom spelling bee). Don't miss this because it is about spelling. There is a lot more depth here. I really liked the religous thoughts that were brought up by this film. I am not usually very religous and very much agnostic, but it really makes you think about things and ponder the greater meaning of life.

[b][i]Searching for Bobby Fischer[/i][/b] is more simpler in its story and meaning as the previous two, but it was so beautiful seeing this family's life. This is about a boy who endes up being a chess prodigy. It is interesting seeing how the two parents react to this and treat Josh after finding out that he has this extraordinary talent. The father wants him to win and beat all the other kids, his chess teacher wants to make him not care about the other players and to just win. It is a lot of pressure for the kid to have to deal with. The mom is the one who really stands up for Josh and I loved her. The mom is played by Joan Allen who I loved since seeing her in The Contender. This is a good family film. It would be good for every family to sit down and watch it together and then talk about it. Really good for parents to see it so that maybe they will think about the kind of pressure that they place on kids these days to win at whatever it is they are doing (cheerleading, basketball, football, or anything else that keeps score).

[b][i]The Door in the Floor[/i][/b] is a very interesting film to say the least. It is a very sad, family drama. The family is dealing with the death of their two sons. It has been 5 years since the accident and none of them have gotten over it. When the movie starts we see that the family is just barely hanging on. I have to say that I have thought about this film a lot. It really does show the characters for who they are without judging them. It doesn't slant the tone of the film and lets the view see them and their actions without comment. Most of the actions are considered bad and wrong in society, but when watching this film, I can see why they might do what they do. You really can't judge the characters for their actions because they are all dealing with this horrible tragedy the only way that they can.