Film Reviews

Bridge to Terabithia

• Rating:
• Director: Gabor Csupo
• Starring: Annasophia Robb
• Details: US / 95mins (PG).

Good-natured 12-year-old Jesse Aarons comes from a poor background and has nothing going for him except being the fastest runner in school. Unfortunately, even that mantle is taken from him by the feisty Leslie (Robb), his new next-door neighbour, who beats him, and the whole school, in a race. Despite their early differences, the two find that they have quite a lot in common: they both suffer at the hands of the school bully and both like to let their imagination run riot. While exploring the forest near their houses the two friends declare a section of the forest Terabithia, and crown themselves King and Queen. Here, anything can happen: squirrels become flying ogres, acorns become grenades and a shabby old tree house becomes a magical castle. Here, they can forget the pressures of their real lives and revel in the magical land they've created - but will reality invade the fantasy? What starts out like a John Hughes movie for preteens, Bridge To Terabithia, adapted from Katherine Paterson's novel, soon turns into a beautifully crafted coming of age story that celebrates the imagination of children and the resounding thud you'll hear at the climax is a real important life lesson for kids not normally seen in these kind of old-fashioned, Disney-esque movies. While most directors wouldn't be able to help themselves visualising, with badly realised CGI, what Jesse and Leslie are seeing, Csupo doesn't, forcing us to imagine along with them while unlocking the child in all of us in the process. That may sound like a cheap way to make a movie, but Bridge To Terabithia has to be seen –- or not, as it were - to be believed. The down point is that the movie feels unfinished, like a prequel for a massive story yet to be told, but it's wholly enjoyable while it lasts.

Review by Gavin Burke