Little Boy

original title:
Little Boy
country / year of production:
USA , Mexico / 2015
original length:
106 min , color
premiere:
24 April 2015 (Open Roads Films)
genre:
drama
based on:
director:
Alejandro Gómez Monteverde
film script:
Alejandro Gómez Monteverde , Pepe Portillo
producer:
Alejandro Gómez Monteverde , Leo Severino
cinematographer:
Andrew Cadelago
editor:
Meg Ramsay , Joan Sobel , Fernando Villena
composer:
Stephen William Altman , Mark Foster
cast (role):
Jakob Salvati (Pepper Flynt Busbee (Little Boy)) , Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Hashimoto) , Michael David Rapaport (James Busbee) , Emily Margaret Watson , David Clayton Henrie , Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson , Ted Levine , Ben Chaplin , Ali Monteverde
more:
plot synopsis:
Little Pepper has a close bond with his father. Pepper does not grow properly and is henceforth called “little boy”.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, his father is called up because his older brother is not fit for service. Pepper is inspired by the Bible verse “For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Mt 17:20) and he works to avoid falling prey to the general hatred of Americans towards the Japanese. He befriends Hashimoto, which helps him to cope better with his problems. Pepper's father is killed in the war and Hashimoto accompanies him to the funeral to pay his respects. They discuss the importance of family and faith. When they receive the news that his father has not died after all. There has been a mix-up. In the end, Pepper manages to end his father's amnesia through shared memories. The story ends with the message that anything is possible through strong faith.
keywords:
atomic bomb , Family , friends on opposite sides
war:
Second World War (1939-1945)
literature:
remarks:
The title of the film is an allusion to the US atomic bomb “Little Boy”, which was dropped on Hiroshima. The title is also a reference to the size of the Peppers.

The movie was received overwhelmingly negatively due to its overly strong reference to a strong faith that could make anything possible. Alan Scherstuhl, writing for The Village Voice, described Little Boy as a “cynical, toxic, profoundly stupid movie”.

But there are also positive voices. Kathryn Jean Lopez of the National Review, for example, said the film's message was “subtle yet clear” and that it was “remarkably sweet in the least corny but also most human way [...] a sensitive movie that inspires hope”. She summed it up as a “heartbreaking and encouraging film” that “deals with life and death and with faith, hope and love”.
availability:
Blu-ray
DVD