Just got back from watching Son of Rambow, courtesy of my new fancy-dan Cineworld Unlimited card, and I’m thoroughly impressed.
Coming from the same stable as Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a film which aimed high but just fell short, Son of Rambow pulls the quirkiness of the Guide into a context where it strangely finds a home; childhood in the 80s. I can’t help but identify with the kids in this film, I grew up mucking around in our local river and recording radio shows with my friends, but this certainly doesn’t make this a kid’s film. True, you could take the family to see it, but I don’t think that Junior would appreciate the story that much, in fact marketing this film to kids seems to miss the point. Son of Rambow is a pure nostalgia trip, plugging the highs and lows of growing up, but never labouring a point and steering well clear of any emotional hand-holding. Spielberg could learn a lot by watching this film.
Essentially a film about film, Son of Rambow won’t please people looking for a new Napoleon Dynamite, but anyone who loves movies should at least enjoy it if not love it. All said and done I enjoyed it, leaving the cinema with a grin on my face and a happy feeling that there are still more excellent movies to come this year. Four out of five.
