Amy (1998)

If we talk about non-American movies, European and Asian cinema are quite well known, but Australia seems to stay behind a bit. However, from time to time one of their movies makes it all the way to one of our TV-stations and sometimes they offer a nice surprise. "Amy" is one of those Australian movies that are more than just worth a watch...It is about an eight year old girl that has become mentally mute and deaf after she witnessed her father die on a stage during a rock concert. She lives with her mother on a farm, but because the government wants to take her from her mother, they are convinced that she is mistreated by her mom, they both move to the big city. Here they end up in a bad neighborhood, full of people who stand very low on the social ladder. At first the neighbors aren't too happy with the "intruders", but one of them soon finds out that he can communicate with Amy by making music and singing...Even though the movie had its weaker moments, overall this is a very touching story that has been done in a very nice way. All the singing started to work a bit on my nerves after a while, but it wasn't that awful that it made me forget about the beauty of the movie. I guess you have to be the ultimate macho to say that this movie didn't touch you a bit and even then I wouldn't believe you. Personally I liked this movie very much and that's why I give it at least a 7.5/10.

WHAT A FILM!!This film has a wonderful cast, a wonderful script and touches your heart. Shot in Melbourne it provides the perfect backdrop for the story. I recommend this title to every human being who reads this!

At first, this just looked a little bit smarmy, and we take comfort in the fact that the cute little girl can't speak. But no, we have to have a happy ending, so the hard-hearted neighbours discover that the girl hears and speaks only melodies, so the second half of the film is sung in nursery rhyme melodies, and saccharine rhymes. It really is as vile as it sounds. I was screaming at them to stop. There are some good actors in this film. They must have been really hard-up to accept these jobs.The girl sounds like that Nikki Webster wretch. I'm not sure whether she did the singing, but it was someone just as unbearable as her.

The latest film from Australians Nadia Tass and David Parker (Malcom, The Big Steal, Stark, Mr Reliable, Ricky And Pete and Pure Luck) works superbly in some respects and woefully in others.A little girl (Amy Enker) sees her rock star father (Nick Barker from The Reptiles) die from electrocution on stage. She then seems to be unable to speak or to even hear others. Her mother (Rachel Griffiths) refuses to have her daughter taken from her by welfare and they hide out in inner city Melbourne. There they meet assorted misfits and desperates including a musician called Robert (Ben Mendelsohn).These film makers enjoy adding a slight touch of surrealism to their movies, especially to the peripheral characters. In Amy this takes the form of stupid eccentrics, in particular singing policemen, which some may find the most appealing element of the film but which I found annoying; only a distraction from that which is so much more effective.The dramatic aspects of Amy are particularly strong. Rachel Griffiths and Ben Mendelsohn are two of our most emotive actors. The essential element of the film is the emotional pain the little girl and her mother are enduring caused by the death of a man they both loved dearly. Their grief is strongly portrayed.The search by these two for a solution that may allow the daughter to escape her self imposed withdrawal from the world is poignant and demanded a film that steadfastly remained a drama.Dad's electrocution, an utterly hateful paparazzi photographer and a helplessly crying young lad reeling from domestic violence and drunkenness are all I needed from Amy. The rest didn't fit at all.It was also pretty unlikely that the little girl could sing so well, but hey, that's entertainment!