I have been pleasantly surprised by a number of outstanding performances by young actors and actresses on screen this year. Probably my favorite film with juvenile leads is "The Giants" ("Les Geants,") an international co-production of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. It tells the tales of two brothers (ages 13 and 15) who are basically abandoned by their mother for a summer. Running out of money (and options,) they meet another youngster who gets them involved with a local drug dealer. The boys quickly find themselves over their heads. Don't let the darkness of this premise steer you away from this film. As dark as it may sound, and as unbelievable as the premise may be, I bought into this film entirely and found myself smiling an awful lot. These scrappy kids will do what they must to survive - but - they ARE kids and act accordingly. Their naivety and false bravado ring true. Kudos to the young cast for being uniformly excellent in their roles. You find yourself caring about these kids, recognizing their actions as NOT uncommon in today's youth, laughing at the choices they make (while remembering your own bad choices from years gone by...) and hoping that things work out for them. The film ends with the boys on a rowboat floating down a river and away from their current troubles. I liked the characters in this film so much my thoughts immediately jumped to "SEQUEL!" I'd follow these characters on to their next adventure. It's almost a "Huckleberry Finn" for the new millennium. www.worstshowontheweb.com ( Note - This review, originally posted on May 2, 2012, was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user. Would someone care to identify the "abuse" for me? )
Review of The Giants
