| Audience: | 4th - 6th Grades |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language |
| Profanity: | Brief mild language |
| Nudity/Sex: | None |
| Alcohol/Drugs: | Adults drink wine |
| Violence/Scariness: | Fantasy peril and violence, references to being eaten, bones of victims, hurt feelings and family stress |
| Diversity Issues: | None |
| Movie Release Date: | October 16, 2009 |
Maurice Sendak's spare, poetic, and deeply wise book has been lovingly unfolded into a movie about the child who lives in all of us, brave and fearful, generous and needy, angry and peaceful, confident and insecure, adventuresome and very glad to come home. The movie may challenge children who are used to bright, shiny colors and having everything explained to them but if they allow it, Max and his story will bloom inside them as it will for anyone open to its profound pleasures.
The book's opening line is as well-remembered as "Call me Ishmael" or "It was a dark and stormy night." "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him 'WILD THING.'" Those who wondered what prompted Max's mischief will accompany him as he experiences the jubilation of creating his own cozy space, a snowball-stocked igloo, and as he joyously takes on his sister's friends in a snowball fight, only to be inconsolably crushed when they carelessly smash his icy lair and then leave without him.
There has never been a more evocative portrayal on film of the purity, the intensity, the transcendence of childhood emotions. The hallmark of maturity is the way we temper our feelings; it is not a compliment when we call someone "childish" for not being able to do so. Our experiences -- and our parents -- teach us that life is complex, that sorrow and joy are always mixed, and that we can find the patience to respond to frustration without breaking anything. But one reason that we mis-remember childhood as idyllic is the longing for the ferocity of childhood pleasures. Jonze and his Max (Max Records) bring us straight into the immediacy and open-heartedness of a child's emotions.
We know we are in a child's world even before the movie begins, with scrawled-on opening credits and then a breathtaking, child's eye opening bursting with sensation, all the feelings rushing together. The film brilliantly evokes the feeling of childhood with the same freshness and intimacy director Spike Jonze showed in the influential videos he made when he was barely out of his teens. Max's mother is beautifully played by Catherine Keener who makes clear to us, if not to Max, her devotion and sensitivity in the midst of concerns about work and a budding romance. His incoherent fury at her being distracted, including a kiss from a date who seems to think he has the right to tell Max how to behave almost hurtles him from the house, into the night, where he runs and runs, and then to a boat, where he sails and sails, until he comes to the land of the Wild Things.
They begin to attack him, but Max tames them with his bravado and imagination and he becomes the king, promising to do away with loneliness and make everyone happy. The book's brief story blooms here as Max interacts with the Wild Things (voices of James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, and Chris Cooper). Each of them represents or reflects Max's emotions or experiences. They love sleeping in a big pile and are thrilled with Max's plans for a fort. But Max learns how difficult it is to be responsible for the happiness of others, and before long, like other children in stories who have traveled to lands filled with magic and wonder, he longs for home.
The movie's look is steeped in the natural world, with forests and beaches, and intricate Waldorf-school-style constructions that evoke a sense of wonder. The screenplay by Dave Eggers and Jonze locates the heart of Sendak's story. They have not turned it into a movie; they have made their own movie as a tribute to Sendak, to childhood, to parenthood, to the Wild Things we all are at times, and to the home that waits for us when those times are over.
Parents should know that this movie is not specifically designed for children and there are some disturbing themes and images. Characters have hurt feelings and there was some fantasy peril and violence (arm ripped off with no apparent ill effects, pile of bones from presumably eaten characters). There are scary monsters, fights with snowballs and dirt, and brief strong words.
Topics for discussion: How do each of the Wild Things show us something about Max? What did he learn from them? Was Max a good king? What would you bring to a desert island?
If you like this, try: Time Bandits
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
You are entirely right, Andy. I always keep in mind the barbarity of enduring fairy tales that have been told to centuries of children and the way that they help them work through conflicts and fears.
My mother and I read this book to my son probably a hundred times when he was young so we went together to see this movie. I was amazed by the depth of understanding that this script shows. We both ended up crying. It totally tells the story of sensitive gifted boys--the ones that drive mothers to tears and that many teachers don't understand. I will be asking all my arts education students to see it--realizing that many of them will relate to the depth of feelings that children experience but can't verbalize with anything but a wolf howl when they are overwhelmed or hurting. But also to encourage my students that as teachers of the arts, they may make a difference for the Maxs of the world who need them to come along side and understand through creative expressions. Moms shouldn't have to be the only ones to really understand the Maxes of this world. I teach a lot of Maxes and they are the most wonderful young men in the world--if we encourage them and don't kill their imaginations.
Professor Mom -- your comment brought tears to my eyes. And your experience of the film so resonated with mine. I found it lyrical, beautifully structured, and Jungian in its depiction of all of the Wild Things as aspects of Max's feelings and experience. The look in his eyes in the last scene showed that he began to appreciate for the first time what it means to be responsible for someone else. Thank you so much for your thoughts.
One of the big differences in the movie from the book is that in the book Max's mom is clearly in control. When Max get out of line, he is sent to his room. From this place of solitude Max goes on his journey of taming the wild things. Once he returns to his room, and those who love him the most, he finds his dinner. Clearly a message of forgiveness and unconditional love. In the movie Max Mother, although very loving, does not seem to be able to set limits for Max. Instead of Mom sending him to his room, Max runs away from his mom and when he returns is rewarded with cake. That is scary and why some never learn to tame their wild things.
An interesting point, Grandmother, many thanks. For me, his mother set limits his wild thing could not accept, which is why he ran. When he returned, it was because he had tamed his wild thing and understood for the first time the burdens of caring for others.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.