Incredible Life Affirming Film
Added 5/11/2008
Treat yourself to a rare and wonderful entertainment, beautifully acted with heart, humor, and style. This movie evokes pity, compassion, and is emotionally moving. I give this film two thumbs and eight fingers up. The film is set in Stockholm during the 1930s. The following is an edited plot synopsis from the sleeve of the VHS box.
*Roland is twelve-years-old. His mother is a Russian Jew, his father is a Swedish Socialist, and his brother is a boxer. He lives in a society that considers his father's politics to be treason, his mother's religion to be blasphemy, and his brother uses him as a punching bag. Roland's rebellious ways gets him the special attention of his schoolteacher who always makes sure that he is punished. Roland is the victim of ceaseless bullying and prejudice but he's a survivor.
*When he's not busy being persecuted, the determined Roland is a budding inventor. Creating a powerful slingshot out of wire and two of his mother's contraband condoms, the young survival artist ultimately seizes on an ingenious way to turn the tables on his oppressors, which brings him fame, fortune, and trouble with the police. The film ends on a poignant note. Fantastic movie!!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Actually about 3.8 - 5 for content, 3 for overall quality.
Added 2/12/2004
The director makes an admirable stab at merging complex issues with human interest. The well-trodden theme of Jews in an unfriendly setting is included in a manner that is refreshingly subtle and unsentimental - especially when contrasted with Spielberg's "Schindler's List" overkill - but then, the latter aimed at Americans with short memories and/or a long trip down "De Nile." As noted by another reviewer, the treatment of political issues is educational and significant. To make a long review short, I cared about these characters. While a lot of psychological/political/social content was crammed into the film, I cared enough about the protagonist and his family to be sorry to say goodbye.
5 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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more than just boys growing up
Added 6/21/2000
The Slingshot brings together a number of very interesting themes and issues. Its particularly unusual to see a depiction of committed socialist activists that does not paint them as evil incarnate, but rather as normal folks. Because we in the US are so uncritically anti-socialist (in any form and any context, even historically), we miss out on a very vibrant part of European AND American cultural history. The movie hilariously contrasts the boy's party-line parents with his own hyper-capitalist tendencies. Even though the movie is set in Sweden, my suspicion is that it comes far closer to representing what working class people in the US experienced in the 20s and 30s than most Hollywood films, which tend to sentimentalize and de-politicize daily life. In addition, the sub-plot concerning the movement to legalize birth control is both really funny, and somewhat sobering. All in all, I imagine the political content of this film would upset a few very conservative viewers even today--perhaps a good thing?
12 out of 12 people found this helpful.
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Haunting story of innocent boy surrounded by prejudice.
Added 1/28/1999
I enjoy renting foreign movies. They are very different than the ones produced in the USA. This story was almost tragic as we see the young innocent boy in this story being harrassed by his schoolmates and misunderstood by all those around him. Good acting -- I liked the good guys and hated the bad guys in this. If you like movies about boys growing up and learning about the world, you will love this one.
8 out of 9 people found this helpful.
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