Am I Missing Something?

A Brilliant Conflict

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This film is one of my favorite films of all time. Because I loved the way the girl talked in her head, she talked more like a grown person, not a 8 year old. Her humor was dry, but funny. And the way she loved her parents, even with their faults was remarkable. The actress who played the little girl did some of the best acting I have ever seen. She hit my heartstrings. The parents were awesome too, playing out two people on the verge of a divorce. Even the babysitter was good. so all in all the acting was superb.The director really stood out with this movie, being able to make a hard-to-shoot film look easy. My hat is off to him.I recommend this film for a 'Thinker' movie buff.

It was this movie which really opened my eyes to the possibilities of one movie can bring.This is a masterpiece which really brings up the feelings, I mean that sort of tension without word. The girl simply closes herself off, while she wants to speak, in her heart, but none of her parents understand.I was very touched by this movie this is a very great piece of work by Rolf, a classic, I'm looking forward to see "The old man who read love stories" and more of his work in the future.I'd recommend this movie to absolutely everyone, be warned though you have to be more patience while watching.

1st watched 10/15/1999 - 8 out of 10(Dir-Rolf De Heer): Excellent story of a child's perspective on life with parents who are having a hard time making things work.Definetly not a hollywood movie, but rather a slice of real life.Why can't us Americans make more time for movie's like this?(This film is Australian made.)

I was very interested in the premise of the story as described on the cover...that a young girl, without the words to express what she feels, becomes convinced of the uselessness of words and stops talking. I think this is brilliant! (I often wonder what is in my own children's minds when they stare off in silence.)However, I was quite unimpressed with the story's unfolding. I was left feeling rather annoyed by the abundant use of voice over which spoiled the whole idea of her silence for me. I wanted to see things as she saw them and feel the tension that only silence can create but instead I was assaulted by a constant stream of interpretations and explanations that were already there in the action or in her beautifully expressive face.While the child actors were usually very engaging, I found it difficult to reconcile the erratic speech patterns as written, especially in the adults, with an interpretation of the world from the young girl's point of view.In all, I was disappointed. Such a wonderful premise but such poor writing and character development.Deep sigh.