A Beautiful Dream follows two 13-year-olds who want to escape their village to find love. Headed to Istanbul, they dream of a life that is different from their work-filled childhood.
While the story starts off a little slowly, the character development is excellent. At the beginning, we feel that they boys might be silly, but as the story progresses we begin to see the real challenges they face and start to empathize and root for both of them. The cinematography is outstanding. With the large panoramic shots, we view the beautiful Turkish countryside with wide-angled shots of caves and grassy fields. The locations are truly breathtaking and the close-ups give us personal insight into the young boys. The background music adds dramatic effects, especially during the escape scenes. The story follows two 13-year-old boys, Ilker (known as Chubby, played by Meat Niyer) and Alper (known as Waddle, played by Yigit Niyer), who are trying to escape the hard realities of their lives. They are young and wistful, but also savvy. We see their own growth as they realize that escaping is not the answer. The dialogue is simple and relatable. My favorite scene is when he boys rest for a night in caves that are carved out with living spaces. That setting is magnificent and they boys really connect during that scene.
The film's message is that: even when life is hard, home is where we belong. Note that it shows kids doing risky things that kids might imitate. There is a scene where one of the kids is smoking and another where they comment on a woman's chest. The whole plot, with the boys running away from home could be considered risky behavior. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. Reviewed by Nyara A., KIDS FIRST!
A Beautiful Dream follows two 13-year-olds who want to escape their village to find love. Headed to Istanbul, they dream of a life that is different from their work-filled childhood.
While the story starts off a little slowly, the character development is excellent. At the beginning, we feel that they boys might be silly, but as the story progresses we begin to see the real challenges they face and start to empathize and root for both of them. The cinematography is outstanding. With the large panoramic shots, we view the beautiful Turkish countryside with wide-angled shots of caves and grassy fields. The locations are truly breathtaking and the close-ups give us personal insight into the young boys. The background music adds dramatic effects, especially during the escape scenes. The story follows two 13-year-old boys, Ilker (known as Chubby, played by Meat Niyer) and Alper (known as Waddle, played by Yigit Niyer), who are trying to escape the hard realities of their lives. They are young and wistful, but also savvy. We see their own growth as they realize that escaping is not the answer. The dialogue is simple and relatable. My favorite scene is when he boys rest for a night in caves that are carved out with living spaces. That setting is magnificent and they boys really connect during that scene.
The film's message is that: even when life is hard, home is where we belong. Note that it shows kids doing risky things that kids might imitate. There is a scene where one of the kids is smoking and another where they comment on a woman's chest. The whole plot, with the boys running away from home could be considered risky behavior. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. Reviewed by Nyara A., KIDS FIRST!
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