Thinking about this movie makes me feel a lot of different things. For one, I loved it. A lot of people talk about how nothing really happens in this film or they ask what was the point? And I truly believe there doesn't need to be a point to it. It simply is what it is and its powerful just like that. This movie was started in 2002, at the time I was 6 years old, just like the boy in the film (Ellar Coltrane). We follow the next 12 years with this boy and his family, as they go through good times as well as bad. This film felt as though my own life was flashing right before my eyes and I don't mean to sound dramatic but it made me realize how much time has passed since I was 6 years old, something I never really think about. The reason it felt like this was because of the pop-culture/contemporary references that were made each year and the soundtracks they decided to use. Throughout the film there is never any reference to what year it might be but it was easy for me to tell because of the music they would play that was popular during the time as well as the references to films/books etc. I think when you see someone grow up on screen its a lot more powerful than if they just cast different characters for each age, I really felt connected to the boy and it reminded me of the connection I felt as I watched Harry Potter and his friends grow up on screen. At first I couldn't tell weather or not I was enjoying the film but by the end I was filled with this overwhelming feeling that never tends to happen with me when watching a movie. This film is so real and true to the human experience and to me described perfectly what it feels like to grow up. If you were born around 1990-1995 I think your going to be able to appreciate this a lot more than most, and even if you weren't born then I think you will still be able to see this film for what it is and what it says about life.
PS: There are quite a few Harry Potter references that definitely made me bawl my eyes out.
