This is what I would call a "slice of life" movie that works, and it works pretty well. It's based on the memoirs of Raimond Gaita, who's now a philosopher and writer, and details what seem to be just a couple of summers in his childhood. And it's a troubled childhood - one that undoubtedly gave him fodder for becoming a philosopher, because one would have to spend a lot of time figuring out what life's about after being raised in that environment.
The title character is Raimond's dad, obviously, Romulus. That part was played by Eric Bana. Bana was quite good and quite convincing in the role. The Gaita family came to Australia from Germany in 1950. Romulus was Romanian, married to a German woman, Christina, played by Frankie Potenta. Christina was obviously emotionally ill, flitting in and out of the family's life, obviously interested in Raimond (who's quite devoted to his mother) but totally incapable of being a mother to him. Romulus is hard-working and devoted, but heavily burdened by raising Raimond essentially alone, with help from a wide and diverse array of family and friends. Eventually he has a breakdown himself and lands in a mental hospital.
As good as Bana (and, for that matter, Potenta) was, it's really Kodi Smit-McPhee as Raymond who stole the show. Large parts of this movie are pretty slow (with sudden outbursts caused by the various trials the family is undergoing) but you develop an interest in Raimond's story, and there comes a point when you feel real pain for him; real sympathy; wondering how in the world he's going to ever be able to overcome this kind of upbringing. Smit-McPhee draws us very powerfully into Raimond's life. It was a fine piece of work by a very young actor.
Not knowing anything about the background of the movie, it was made more powerful when I realized that Raymond was a real person, and that the movie was based on his memoirs. That he could obviously become successful after such a troubled upbringing is a great credit to him. (7/10)
The title character is Raimond's dad, obviously, Romulus. That part was played by Eric Bana. Bana was quite good and quite convincing in the role. The Gaita family came to Australia from Germany in 1950. Romulus was Romanian, married to a German woman, Christina, played by Frankie Potenta. Christina was obviously emotionally ill, flitting in and out of the family's life, obviously interested in Raimond (who's quite devoted to his mother) but totally incapable of being a mother to him. Romulus is hard-working and devoted, but heavily burdened by raising Raimond essentially alone, with help from a wide and diverse array of family and friends. Eventually he has a breakdown himself and lands in a mental hospital.
As good as Bana (and, for that matter, Potenta) was, it's really Kodi Smit-McPhee as Raymond who stole the show. Large parts of this movie are pretty slow (with sudden outbursts caused by the various trials the family is undergoing) but you develop an interest in Raimond's story, and there comes a point when you feel real pain for him; real sympathy; wondering how in the world he's going to ever be able to overcome this kind of upbringing. Smit-McPhee draws us very powerfully into Raimond's life. It was a fine piece of work by a very young actor.
Not knowing anything about the background of the movie, it was made more powerful when I realized that Raymond was a real person, and that the movie was based on his memoirs. That he could obviously become successful after such a troubled upbringing is a great credit to him. (7/10)