It's Difficult NOT To Enjoy This Movie

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

As Good As It Gets

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A great story. True. But not serviced well here. An extremely complex story boiled down to a hollywoodized version of bad guys vs good guys, fuzzy elements of the past in flashback at pivotal points of the slow moving story, bad guys and good guys delineated so clearly they might have been wearing sandwich boards on their backs, several elements of the story leading nowhere, transformation of characters sudden and without development. And - oh yes graphic torture scenes unsuitable for children.And let's not forget the classic breakthrough boardroom scene with astounded and receptive officials who never call security when the intruder appears like a crazed lunatic to Bring. About. Change.Good acting, lovely singing but not enough to carry the clichés.6/10

I homeschool my 12 year old daughter. We are eclectic in our curriculum. My daughter is on a grade level with Sophomore students. This film opened our eyes to the struggle happening in Kenya while the British were fighting over land. This is a great follow up movie to The Good Lie. Although completely different storyline, there is a familiarity and almost mirroring between the two films. This story follows Maruge, an 84 year old gentleman who was part of the Mau Mau tribe and taken into custody after his family was brutally murdered before his eyes. Maruge never received an education, as was true for the majority of adults during this time period. The First Grader follows Maruge's struggle to receive an education and learn to read well after his release from the detainee/work camp in 1963. Maruge appeals to adult and teenaged viewers. He is a classic underdog. He is worth rooting for. Jane Obinchu is the primary school teacher in this remote location in Kenya. She's instantly likable. The viewer feels her pull to help Maruge despite her husband's insistence that it will be nothing but trouble. Jane is engaging, endearing, and in the end, a classic heroine. I would recommend this movie to open up lines of communication between yourself and your child. To expose them to real people during a real event that could easily be used as a 'Torchlighters" series. Follow it up or set it up with The Good Lie. Both well done. Both deserving of an audience.

Watched this on DVD. I spent most of my life in Africa (so far) and loved the sweeping shots of rural Kenya and the enthusiasm of the Kenyan children and of course Maruge. It's a feel good movie that lost its way. The person I would most like to see it – my son - will be denied the opportunity because I feel that the torture scenes are too extreme. I realise that the Mau Mau uprising resulted in terrible recrimination in Kenya (especially for the Kikuyus) and should not be glossed over. But feel that the producers of The First Grader have missed a great opportunity to really inspire the primary schoolchildren on the world – that you should only stop learning "until you have soil in your ears!"

This is a very moving account of actual events that took place 2003-2005, with a little poetic license in the retelling. The principle actors are brilliant, but some of the other characters are a little overdrawn. However, I think this kind of caricature may be derived from Kenyan culture.I thoroughly enjoyed the character development as well as the pacing of the story. It is also set in dramatic Kenyan landscapes which are enthralling. Having visited Kenya briefly in 2006, this brought back a lot of good memories of the country and the people. The smiles of the children you see amid the poverty is exactly how I remember it. As others have said, it isn't a movie for children, but should be on the "to watch" list for adolescents and adults.