Little Men (2016)

the audience applauded

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

LITTLE MEN is the story of two boys who become friends in the twilight year of their childhood: a time when they will move on from elementary to high school and begin to take the first steps into their adult lives. The title itself hearkens back to Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," a similar concept in which young girls come of age amidst personal and emotional struggle.The story of these two boys is one that is at times extremely intimate and wholly universal. I was reminded of my times during childhood when the summer days couldn't stretch on long enough and the only concerns in the world were whether or not I could have dinner at a friend's house. Maybe you don't know what you have until it's gone. That is definitely true in a story like this, where the consequences of actions are not that of the children, but rather their parents, and the stirring drama that unfolds through the generations as a result.Jake is an artsy boy, shy with long hair, who keeps his nose in his sketchbook when his teacher lectures other kids on being quiet in the class. He hears word that his grandfather has just died (on his father's side, who is played by Greg Kinnear) and soon they form a small wake at the deceased's apartment in Brooklyn. It's here Jake meets Tony, a street- smart kind of kid with a heavy accent reminiscent of a bowery boy and an attitude to match. Despite their apparent differences, the two boys quickly become friends. Simultaneously, Jake and his family move into his grandfather's building and inherit the shop at street level, a dress shop owned by Tony's mother.Two stories begin to unfold: that of a carefree summer amongst boys, and the turmoil of legal battles over the ownership to the shop. Jake's father, Brian, claims legal ownership and requires a rent hike in order to make ends meet. Tony's mother, Leonor, a Spanish- speaking woman with a firm head on her shoulders, both refuses to give up the shop and also pay the rent at 3 times the price. We hear stories of her good relationship with Brian's father, and how he wanted Leonor to stay in the shop when he died. She only needs what's best for her family. So does Brian.Between Jake and Tony, we learn that both seek to apply to a prestigious art school in Manhattan for the fall. Jake for drawing and art, and Tony for acting. While Jake's art is never fully seen (and in fact I can't recall a single drawing that is fully framed at any given time), we have a marvelous scene where Tony takes Jake to an acting class for children. Here, a balding teacher with thick accent instruct the pupils on how to use improv, how to react, how to interact. A long shot between Tony and the teacher sees both calling back and forth repeated lines of dialogue with different inflections. Even for a simple audience member, we can tell that Tony has what it takes.The drama, at times heavy-handed, guides the boys through the maturation of their personalities and in turn becomes a story about the intimacy children share with each other, secrets hidden from parents and shared in private conversation. This is done through masterful mise-en-scene, where a parent's resolution with his son seems to end happy until we realize they are framed on separate sides of a room. When Tony is rejected by a girl at a dance and later we see Jake lean his head into frame to share the space with his saddened friend. There are ways one could interpret this movie as a love story, but in no way one that leads to romance. This is the love that friends have who are kindred spirits despite differences.I applaud the director, who clearly knows how to photograph a film and stage his actors. Watching "Little Men" makes one feel like they are in safe hands, and as such there is never a time that we doubt the motives or actions of the people we watch on screen. The movie ends several months later with Jake now long-haired and dressed more in-tune with an artist. He travels a museum with some classmates and in the distance hears the distinctive sound of Tony's voice. It's clear that in the end Tony and his family move out, and their friendship quickly dissipates in such a large city. This voice is the first time Jake has seen Tony since. Looking across a gallery exhibit, he sees Tony from behind, still in a Catholic school uniform. He is friendly as ever, but he quickly leaves with his friends and Jake is left alone. There is no "hello" or catching up. There is barely resolution. We are left with two thoughts: that Tony's family was unable to send him to the high school he wanted, or that Jake is just reminded of his old friend at the sight of the old school uniform. I'd like to think that the second is more plausible, if only because we want a happy ending for these two boys. It's unfair to picture a life where the actions of our parents can forever change the next generation's future.For a movie about a summer friendship, this surely left me with a lot to ponder. This is about as limited a release as movies come, but if you manage to find a screening near you I implore you to check this one out.

This film seemed to go nowhere, and I'm still not sure if I'm fine with that. It opens with a friendless Jake drawing a green sky in class, and after finding and then losing a best friend, it ends with a slightly older pony-tailed Jake contently sketching alone in a museum. Between these bookends, the film accurately portrays an awkward friendship between the two titular little men, but also manages to indulge in prolonged unnecessary shots of rollerblading set against an excessive soundtrack. The intriguing moments come from the more volatile relationship between parents. Leonor's caustic one-liners, seemingly out of place in this indie movie, were easily the most engaging moments.The Take: We're not movie critics, but we might be better. https://twitter.com/thetaketweets http://filmtake.tumblr.com/

I think this is the best Sachs film I've seen yet. In many ways, it feels more like a French film, or Japanese. And yet, like Linklater's "Boyhood" it is quintessentially American--far more truly American than all those violent and overwrought Hollywood blockbusters. It is IN America and ABOUT America in a way that most of Hollywood isn't. What makes it so wonderful is that it finds what is important in the minutiae of ordinary life. It's a trivial movie in the sense that it is about the trivia of life, but it is great in the sense that it draws out what is humanly important and beautiful and moving in that trivia. Personally, I find most of what Hollywood produces dead boring- -collections of clichés clamoring for attention and thrills, but with no heart and nothing to say. Rather than make stuff up (copying what others have made up before) this film observes what is.Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" is probably one of the most turgid movies of all time--slow, uneventful--but it is also one of the most beautiful and memorable and arresting. This movie is not as staggeringly beautiful, but it has the same capacity to find what is beautiful in the ordinary--in OUR lives, not in Captain Marvel's or Superman's or Batman's. This film is about life, and it affirms life. We could use way more of this kind of film.

This film is a joy. I'm a long way from age 13, but this film reminded me of the ups and downs of teenage relationships. Two boys, one shy, one feisty thrown together by circumstance. They form a strong bond just as their respective parents grow apart. The boys don't have the emotional experience to understand the reasons why there is a rift between their respective parents. They resort to childish ploys to restore the status quo. Clearly this doesn't work. I won't give away the ending. But please go and see this film for the two outstanding performances from the two boys. Just breathtaking. And familiar. And a brilliant light touch from the director. I just want to see it again.