Bridge to Terabithia, 2007

This adaptation of a children’s novel starts out as a rather clichéd story of a young boy who feels alienated by both his family and class mates, he is bullied, and finds it difficult to communicate with his agricultural American family who are under financial pressure. a new girl named Leslie arrives at his school with whom he builds a relationship, as she recognises his artistic ability and encourages him to imagine a fantasy world in the woods near where they both live. The film seems inappropriate for children, there are very obvious attempts to subvert a peculiar type of protestant liberalism to children which comes across as a distasteful dislike of modernism, rationality and agricultural values, also condemning violence whilst simultaneously validating it as a form of vengeance, however it is perhaps inappropriate for younger viewers not for this reason, but because of its bleak and depressing style, which I imagine only a minority of children would find entertaining. There is however redemption from these flaws, firstly in the fascinating relationship between the two childhood friends, and the remarkable insight into the concerns and motives of children and their psychology. The fantasy sequences are likely to win over younger viewers as they are imaginative and compelling. But the most striking feature of the film, is how the theme completely changes when Leslie is killed, changing the film from sickly sweet sentimentalism to original social commentary on how young people are expected to cope with loss and death, two subjects very seldom addressed in children’s films with the maturity and emotional sensitivity displayed in the one.

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