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(Little) Girl Power
A Little Princess
is one of those small collection of films that is too good for kids. Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, it follows 10 year old Sara Crewe who is forced to relocate from her colonial home in India to a New York girls school when her military father is called into service at the start of the first World War. Sara has a talent for storytelling, to improvise the details and to enrapt her audience and it’s this fascination with the power of story and imagination which is at the core of this captivating little movie.
When thinks get dark for Sara it’s her faith in imagination that allow her (most of the time) to rise above the indignity and hardships in her life…and that’s an inspiring thing to watch, especially when handled with a subtleness and restrained sentimentality as it is here. She’s also a figure who inspires change in others, much like Any Dufrane in Shawshank or Ferris Bueller himself, although there are two occasions when Sara needs inspiration herself. Fortunately the script, director Alfonso Cueron and composer Patrick Doyle are on hand with a rescue plan. Visually and audibly, India is used as a representation of ‘inspiration’ itself. Using vibrant colours and a powerful musical cue whenever something from India enters the frame (usually the kindly Indian gentleman living next door) it creates a profound impact on Sara, and through her, us the audience.
The set are rich in detail, the cinematography both lush and bleak as required, the performances subdued and measured…even the kids and Elenor Bron stands out as the wicked, cool and calculating Headmistress. The script is lean and like the Watchmen comic book possess an ingenious framing device, a story within a story of the God Rama, which mirrors the events in the main story.
Best of all it manages to communicate Sara’s sence of wonder to the audience which makes the film feel magical and enchanting, but never overly sentimental. Highly recommended, especially for grown ups, and even for blokes…as long as you can get past the utter girlie-ness of the kids school!
1 comment:
I adore this film. One of my favourites being genuinely touching, inspiring and emotional. It's a beautifully written, acted and directed fable about the joy and freedom of imagination, inner strength and self belief. I read Frances Hodgson Burnett's original novel for the first time a couple years ago which is itself a lovely little tale covering the same themes. For his movie Cuaron changed the location to New York, brought the time period forward to WW1 and changed the ending to be a bit more of a happy Hollywood ending...but the end result is the same and the film works brilliantly. Love it. And, yes, it's too good just for kids. As an interesting note the original novel is Joss Whedon's fave book.
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