Pros:
+Story is well-told.
+Gives food for thought and makes you think about the meaning of life.
+The background story is given away very gradually.
Cons:
+Although the child actress really is blind, she was not very convincing as an actress.
+The camerawork was subpar. Very shaky!
+There is only one way to interpret the story.
+Contrived.
All in all: Because the story is told in a very good way, I was not at all distracted by the negatives of the movie.
Plot summary
Stephen was a successful cardiologist, faithful husband, and loving father, until a tragic event cost him everything he held dear. Exactly one year from the tragedy Stephen has created a sentimental tour of the City of Angels, as a tribute to those he lost. His final stop on the tour will be back at his home, where he plans on taking his own life. During his journey he has a chance encounter with a blind girl, Maria, who has gotten lost in the city. Unable to find her guardians he reluctantly brings her with him. Along the way she effortlessly begins opening his eyes to the boundless beauty of the world and that his life still has value. Their journey is wrought with many obstacles. As they get closer to their final destination, Stephen's frozen heart becomes thawed by Maria's warm charisma. Her positive perspective forces Stephen to confront his inner demons and the decision to end his life. Bringing him face to face with the questioning of whether their encounter was mere coincidence, or divine intervention.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 811.88 MB
1280*640
English 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
A well-told story!
Reviewed by
A wonderful film, not to be rushed
I've only ever written two or three reviews on IMDB, over years of fact checking on the site. This film is one of the few that stirred me enough to say something.
I hadn't a clue what the film might be about. But there were several threads that soon drew me in: 1) from the start, the pace is in musical terms, andante - it kept moving but with no sense of rush 2) the photography, while not being terribly original, was to a high standard 3) then she came on the scene! I defy anyone to watch this film without warming to Maria (Kaylynn Kubeldis). I believe it's quite obvious from the start that she is naturally blind, and probably born so (later research confirms this). But as with so many blind people, what they lack in physical vision, they make up for in other ways, in this case Kaylynn's warm and infectious personality. It seemed like she wasn't really acting a character (an interview with her confirmed this).
The film is non-linear, but the story easy to follow, and the back story becomes obvious as you need it to. I would say the script and screen play were top draw! The film left me in a warm and thoughtful mood.
If you only like shallow, action-packed candyfloss where it doesn't really matter what the plot is, this film is not for you. But if you can set aside 90 minutes to focus without interruptions on a drama, you will not regret watching this. Congratulations all around to the cast and crew. May you go on to produce more of this quality.