The Better Angels
The Better Angels
PG | 18 January 2014 (USA)
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At an isolated log cabin in the harsh wilderness of Indiana circa 1817, the rhythms of love, tragedy, and the daily hardships of life on the developing frontier shaped one of our nation’s greatest heroes: Abraham Lincoln. Abe is a thoughtful and quiet boy who spends his days at the side of his beloved mother while learning to work the land from his stern father. When illness takes his mother, Abe's new guardian angel comes in the form of his new stepmother, who sees the potential in the boy and pushes for his further education.

Reviews
Titreenp

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

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Nonureva

Really Surprised!

Ploydsge

just watch it!

Dynamixor

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

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loveydoveyy

My first opinion for this movie is that it has beautiful cinematography by having the screen move in different directions and having a variety of shots. Even though it is in black and white, I find that the movie captures the lighting and darkness really well. The sounds effects for the movie is really amplified for example the crunching of the leaves or birds chirping, likewise for the soundtrack it made the movie more calming and beautiful with the violin or piano playing. The movie didn't have a lot of dialogue beside the narrator's voice of Abraham. It didn't sound like him either since it was more southern and not as high pitched. A better representation of Abraham's voice could be Daniel Day-Lewis's in Spielberg's Lincoln (2012) which is more high-pitched. I also find that the movie also explains Abraham Lincoln's life and his relationships with his family and friends very accurately, which the movie centers more on the interactions with his mother, step mother, and father. The actor that played Abraham didn't seem to show much emotions or show any personality traits throughout the movie for example, there was a lot of scenes that just focuses on his face with no emotions. Overall, I don't usually watch a black and white movie however, I enjoyed watching this since it was entertaining and wasn't dull or tedious to watch.

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Ikepickerel

.....is the word that came to mind numerous times throughout the film, and captain Castile reviewed it best. I would add that although I thought I had a grasp of pioneer living, I now know I didn't have a clue! I kept relating all the hardships shown in that era juxtaposed to how pampered we live today, and yet have the gall to complain about someone taking our parking spot! We owe it to ourselves to watch this wonderful snapshot, if not for the Lincoln history, then for the lesson learned/relearned of how wonderfully blessed we are to live in this time of aplenty, and maybe stand up for right and wrong, and try to maintain a grip on the America we grew up with!

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shaquedamour

This beautiful film really took me to that time and place. I enjoyed this movie more than any other I have seen lately. This thought provoking portrayal of Lincoln's boyhood is fresh. I have already read so much about Lincoln and seen films about him and thought this might be tired ground to cover. But, I was completely drawn in by the experience of this film. The subtlety of the piece is much appreciated. I work with children and I would like to show this film to elementary - high school students and get their impressions of the film. The way that childhood is captured here is lovely and meaningful. This story within a story is a gentle and welcome addition to films about a great American President.

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kosmasp

Not really, especially if you watched this without having a clue who the young boy is supposed to be. It could be just any story about any young boy growing up. But it's not. It's young Abe Lincoln, something you could completely miss, like I did. Which happens because I do watch movies without reading up on them. So while it was obvious this was going to be a black and white film, I didn't know what it was about. It played at the Festival in Berlin, which does not always says a lot about the quality of the movie itself, but I tried.And I wasn't disappointed by the story of this boy. A story that is interesting in itself, but would not allow any conclusions about where this boy would go. Something people obviously did ask the director too, who was present at the screening. A very interesting stylised form, of a story of a man/boy you might not have heard/read yet ...

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