10.31.2009

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Spike Jonze guides us into the heart of a troubled, lonely child. The journey is very affecting.


Max has no one to play with and so he acts out, bothering his sister and then his single mom. When he really goes over the line (while wearing a wolf costume), he takes off, gets into a boat and sails to a land inhabited by giant wild creatures. Max's time with these seven emotional and destructive beasts helps him understand that he can't understand or fix everything.

Every element of this film is exactly perfect. Max's character is played by a gifted young actor. The soundtrack is cohesive, original and worth listening to again. The camera work gorgeously works in lots of natural light (at least it looked like natural light). And most superbly, the Jim Henson Creature Factory outdoes any kind of computer graphics by giving us the most real creatures I've ever seen on screen.

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