[ripples]

"Breakfast on Pluto", a Golden Globe 2006 nominated film about an Irish orphan who becomes a transvestite searches for his birth mother. Set amidst the backdrop of Ireland and London in the 60's and 70's and the IRA bombings. Director also did "The Crying Game". I found the film very engrossing and quirky since I'm into art-house films. However, the adoptee's anguish during his search for his birth mother, as he encounters abuse and hardship along his journey, seemed rather unreal. But then again, the director said he had thought of the world of Voltaire's "Candide" when he did the script, hence, the rather bizarre, tragic yet darkly comical tone to the film.

I would not recommend this film for those who are grappling with their own adoption-related anguish - the scene of the magician's performance was particularly gruelling, even gut-wrenching. I just saw this film in Taiwan (Jan. 2007) and the theatre was practically full-house. The audience roared with laughter in some of the scenes, apparently this was more to do with the Taiwanese translations of Irish slang and humour.

Rotten Tomatoes review: Breakfast on Pluto
Australian Broadcasting Corporation review: At the Movies: Breakfast on Pluto
IMDb review: Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

[zebramom]

Bumping to re-introduce this topic. I'm looking for kid appropriate movies. I have a few, but haven't seen most of them, or some not in quite a while.

Babe
Snow Dogs
Elf
Heidi
Little Drummer Boy
Annie
Nester, The Long Eared Donkey

Any other ones you can suggest?

[ripples]

Sorry, I forgot about the kids' movies. I guess you could say that Babar the Elephant is an adoptee. However, I do remember that my adopted brother would refuse to see the page whereby Babar's mother is killed by the elephant poachers.

And Harry Potter was an orphan - the following article mentions why JK Rowling chose to write about Harry Potter as an orphan Why Did J.K. Rowling Make Harry Potter An Orphan - What Is the Reason Harry Potter Is An Orphan

[ripples]

Claire secretly searches for her birth parents on "Heroes", NBC TV episode 13, season 1 (29 January, 2007). Preview video on Yahoo's home page. From what I saw of the preview, usual sort of TV (poor) over-acting.

[ripples]

The Owl and the Sparrow, about an orphan in Vietnam. Here's the outline from the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2007.

"While the film’s central narrative mirrors that of many a Hollywood love story—a young child strives to forge a romantic relationship between two lonely adults—the characters and their circumstances add up to much more: a thoughtful portrait of contemporary Vietnam. Thuy, a young orphan who lives with her demanding uncle, runs away from her rural home for the streets of Saigon, where she meets Lan, a flight attendant in a doomed affair with a married man, and Hai, a zoo employee who—after being jilted by his fiancée—has little contact with anyone except for his beloved elephants. When she’s not hitting the streets trying to persuade tourists to buy roses, Thuy evades officers who round up derelict children for the local orphanages and balances her time between her two new friends. Constantly scolded for “asking too many questions,” Thuy learns of Lan’s and Hai’s personal lives and sets out to unite them, despite their class differences.

Gauger’s film, full of rich, compelling, compassionate characters, does not shy away from romance; it’s most remarkable, however, for its peek at the children who populate Saigon’s streets. Though supposedly alone, they form a network that thrives on mutual support and respect."
Owl and the Sparrow

[ripples]

"Orphans" - screened at the USA's South By SouthWest Film Festival 2007 on March 12. Here's one viewer's comment about the film:

"Orphans is the story of two sisters, Rosie (Lily Wheelwright), and Sonia (the outstanding James Katharine Flynn). They are estranged from each other but they agree to get together for Sonia's birthday party. Nothing quite turns out as either had hoped. We learn some of their history, both parents killed five years earlier in a car wreck, Sonia's drinking bouts with her father, but basically the movie is pure emotion from beginning to end. The acting is really outstanding as is the wonderful camera work and editing. I look forward to seeing these actors in future films."

Orphans (2007)

[notsosure3]

The Tigger Movie (wherein Tigger searches for his relatives), here's the part of Tigger's song that is like being adopted (except it's not really so wonderful, as Tigger realizes):
"But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is ...
I'm the only one!"

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - deals with adoption, especially the Thanksgiving special Good Wilt Hunting where the friends are reuniting w/ their creators and Wilt goes in search of the boy who imagined him

[notsosure3]

I wanted to add that when I was a kid I couldn't watch Dumbo b/c of the scene where they take his mother away (for rampaging b/c they took her son from her) and she's in a cage and she can only touch him through the bars. I would be bawling through this.

Another movie that touched me was A Little Princess (from 1995). I remember being 8 years old and crying during that movie more than any other movie. I think the girl thought her dad was dead, but he ended up coming to reclaim her and save her from the evil schoolmaster.

And I saw The Omen a couple months ago. I could only imagine if an adopted kid watched that. Jeez. But it was a cool movie.

[ripples]

2 more films:
1) Spiderman - (no overview needed)
2) Transamerica - a female transsexual gets contacted by a teenage runaway and street hustler who's looking for his birth father. Had excellent reviews from both David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz, moview reviewers on Australia's ABC TV "At the Movies" show. Won the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress , won many international awards, and nominated for 2006 Oscars.

[fauxgina]

The computer-animated Disney film, Meet the Robinsons, is about a boy who is adopted. Apparently it has caused some controversy among adoption advocates because several (one source claimed it was 124) potential adoptive parents "reject" him before his current family adopts him and the advocates worried about adopted childrens' reaction to that. Haven't seen it, though, so I can't temper the criticism with any praise.

[fauxgina]

Originally Posted by ripples

Harry Potter was an orphan - the following article mentions why JK Rowling chose to write about Harry Potter as an orphan Why Did J.K. Rowling Make Harry Potter An Orphan - What Is the Reason Harry Potter Is An Orphan

Literarily speaking, losing one or both parents "frees" a young character to participate in all sorts of adventures without raising questions of "Where are this kid's parents?" or "How could they let their kid wander off into that dark forest all alone?"

The loss doesn't have to be through abandonment or death, but, as in Finding Nemo, the child could be temporarily separated from the parents--also in order to free the character up to go on an adventure and learn about life.

[ripples]

More flicks:

"Juno" - a comedy film about a rather nonchallant pregnant teenager who proceeds to browse for seemingly perfect adoptive parents for her baby to be. Knowing what I know now about the pain suffered by birth mothers, my blood boiled when I saw the previews this last week.

"The Orphanage" - a horror flick from Spain. Here's a synopsis: The Orphanage centers on a Laura (Belén Rueda) who purchases her beloved childhood orphanage with dreams of restoring and reopening the long abandoned facility as a place for disabled children. Once there, Laura discovers that the new environment awakens her sons imagination, but the ongoing fantasy games he plays with an invisible friend quickly turn into something more disturbing. Upon seeing her family increasingly threatened by the strange occurrences in the house, Laura looks to a group of parapsychologists for help in unraveling the mystery that has taken over the place.

[ripples]

"The Kite Runner". After fleeing Afghanistan with his father when he was a child, the main character, Ahmir, returns to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to search for his friend's son. Brilliantly acted, well shot and very emotional story - some parts are downright brutal, 'tho. 2008 Oscar and Golden Globe Award-nominated. The child actor who played Ahmir's young friend won a well-deserved award for his performance. I sobbed my guts out for nearly 10 minutes after seeing the film.

[ripples]

Film title: "The Children of Huang Shi" AU$20M film stars Chow Yun Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Michelle Yeoh (a previous James Bond film actress) and is the true story of a UK journalist who rescued orphaned children and led them on a treacherous journey along the Silk Road to the Gobi Desert during WW2. I'd love to hear the feedback from the orphaned children who are now adults.

If you do a Google search for "No bright lights for film premiere in rural China", you'll find the newspaper article dated 31 March, 2008 in The Australian newspaper. According to the article, the film will be released in the USA in May 2008 and in Australia later this year. It premieres tonight in rural China.

[ReOcB42008]

I saw a made for tv movie back in the late 70s called "I Want To Keep My Baby!" about a teenager who decides to keep her baby then finds it too hard and gives her up. I have seen it 2 or 3 times and it makes me cry every time. Gives me hope because the birthmom tells the baby that "someday, we will meet again - maybe in Heaven, and you will know me and call me Mama." It helps to think that may be true when I get discouraged that I may not see my bmom here on earth. MJM(bn)