I usually ask myself why people want to watch movies filled with suffering. Challenges, yes, agony, no. But where kids are involved I guess I'm a sucker. I have to see it come out all right.
Mary Pickford looks almost as young as her character in this gripping film about a group of orphans held as slave labor by a cruel farmer. The story itself is a natural hook. Like many of the works of Charles Dickens, it paints the picture of the innocent suffering at the hands of people who embody every possible vice and who are capable of every imaginable cruelty.
One most touching quality of the film is the portrayed ability of Molly, in the face of all she endures, to draw together the group as a family and love each one as a mother should. Self-pity is alien to her. Life is what it is but there's always hope for better and the cruel blows don't change that or make it untrue.
I saw that the ending did drag on in the sense that it isn't quite as snappy a resolution as a viewer would want. But I found that after seeing them endure so much, I wanted to see something of their happy ending. I shared in the pain, and wanted to share in the joy as well. And so I feel that it ended rather more like the books it resembles and not like a modern thriller. The boat scenes did go a bit astray, but were mercifully short compared to other parts.
A horrifying tale with a surprising note of humor and sweetness that somehow worked, this film is well worth watching.
Mary Pickford looks almost as young as her character in this gripping film about a group of orphans held as slave labor by a cruel farmer. The story itself is a natural hook. Like many of the works of Charles Dickens, it paints the picture of the innocent suffering at the hands of people who embody every possible vice and who are capable of every imaginable cruelty.
One most touching quality of the film is the portrayed ability of Molly, in the face of all she endures, to draw together the group as a family and love each one as a mother should. Self-pity is alien to her. Life is what it is but there's always hope for better and the cruel blows don't change that or make it untrue.
I saw that the ending did drag on in the sense that it isn't quite as snappy a resolution as a viewer would want. But I found that after seeing them endure so much, I wanted to see something of their happy ending. I shared in the pain, and wanted to share in the joy as well. And so I feel that it ended rather more like the books it resembles and not like a modern thriller. The boat scenes did go a bit astray, but were mercifully short compared to other parts.
A horrifying tale with a surprising note of humor and sweetness that somehow worked, this film is well worth watching.