- Sensibility: A curious choice to have a kid rob a store and an announcement for no more trains feel out of place. Otherwise, quite sensible.
- Cinematography: The production design is quite good as well as costuming. CGI is seamless and well done with the fires throughout the film.
However, there is a black-and-white daisies image that feels like a gimmick and some poor editing choices that put scenes in the wrong order. In fact, a re-organization of the scenes
remembering the times before the war could significantly improve this film.
- Energy: The weakest part of the film is simply that it is boring. The story is messy and the stakes feel too low throughout to draw interest. The story
doesn't create an attachment to the characters, so it's hard to enjoy or even pay attention to the long journey from the boy.
- Narrative: The story doesn't create a strong bond to the characters at the start, so it's hard to take interest in the boy's journey back to his family. There
are many parts of the boy's journey that just feel like tangential distractions, particularly the bit where the boy is forced to steal.
The film irregularly focuses on racial issues, but these issues feel secondary to what should be the primary focus: safety during the ongoing war. After all this,
the film doesn't really take a stance or have a message that is novel or interesting.
- T-Points: The film received one bonus point for a great bit of sound design linking train sounds with the soundtrack.
I'm such a fan of Steve McQueen, but this film just doesn't work for me. The story is too bland and can't seem to pick an issue to focus on.
Number of Watches: 1
