The Mighty – Gemeinsam sind sie stark (1998)

The Mighty – Gemeinsam sind sie stark: Directed by Peter Chelsom. With Harry Dean Stanton, Gena Rowlands, Elden Henson, Douglas Bisset. Two young boys, both social outcasts in their small town, form an unlikely friendship.

“u0026quot;Sometimes seems like the whole world has just seen me on Americau0026#39;s Most Wanted.u0026quot; (Max Kane)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo says the imposing gentle giant Max (the excellent Elden Ratliff). He is a 13-year-old with a murdered mother and murdering jailbird father (James Gandolfini), who has twice failed 8th grade and lives with disgruntled grandparents Gram and Grim (the particularly morose Harry Dean Stanton and Gena Rowlands). Itu0026#39;s a wonder he isnu0026#39;t Mad Max. However, he has a saviour. A minor miracle named Kevin Dillon (Kieran Culkin). Sounds cheesy, but The Mighty is anything but.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePeter Chelson, director of the inventive and original Funny Bones, has lovingly superimposed Rodman Philbricku0026#39;s successful childrenu0026#39;s book Freak The Mighty to the screen. The result is as moving as any kiddies film youu0026#39;ve seen in the last ten years.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKevin is suffering from Morquiou0026#39;s syndrome, a progressively degenerative disease that makes him unable to walk without leg braces. However, the boy is a considerable intellectual giant trapped inside a small, fragile body. As luck would have it he is consigned to tutor Max in remedial reading. In the words of Bogart itu0026#39;s the start of a u0026quot;beautiful friendshipu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKevin introduces the big guy to Arthurian legend. u0026quot;Every word is part of a picture. Every sentence is a picture. All you do, is let your imagination connect them together. If you have an imagination that is,u0026quot; he says.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eInspired by the knights in the book, the boys invent a fantasy world in which honour is everything. Together, Max and Kevin set out to battle their foes, both real and imagined.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDo not be put off by the presence of a Culkin or the mention of King Arthur. The Mighty is sincere, without being turgidly earnest, and genuinely uplifting. Sharon Stone equips herself well as the distraught mother of Kevin, but canu0026#39;t quite convince us that she doesnu0026#39;t ooze glamour. The u0026quot;badu0026quot; kids also do not quite fit, resembling the troublesome urchins in Bugsy Malone rather than vicious Cincinnati hoodlums. However, these are minor quibbles, for ultimately The Mighty is several notches above the average childrenu0026#39;s film. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBen Walsh”