MOVIE NEWS: The Secret Letter
On Monday, I interviewed Elizabeth Muskala, the director of the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children. If you haven’t read that yet, click here. (Don’t worry… we’ll wait!) Everybody good? Good! Moving on…
In the interview, Elizabeth recommended a movie from the Netherlands called The Secret Letter. I got a chance to watch her recommendation, and I’m here to share some thoughts on it.
The movie is a mystery-adventure about an 11-year-old girl named Eva and her two best friends, Jackie and Thomas. When Eva runs away from home for a night to put a scare into her constantly bickering parents, she ends up stumbling onto a secret letter that proves her neighbor is the leader of a crime syndicate. Now she and her friends have to figure out a way to stop the bad guys. Or else!
Here are a few observations about The Secret Letter:
1) It’s mysterious. You’re probably thinking, “Of course it’s mysterious, Craig — you already said it’s a mystery!” While that is a good point, what I mean is it’s actually mysterious. What do the numbers on the secret letter mean? Is Eva’s dad part of the crime syndicate? Who’s lying and who’s telling the truth?
2) It’s subtitled. As I mentioned above, the film is from the Netherlands, so all of the movie’s dialogue is in Dutch. That said, the English subtitles don’t take away from the movie at all. So much of good mystery movies (chase scenes, spying, etc.) is unspoken, and that’s the case here, too. Speaking of which…
3) It’s well-acted. When you think of the range of emotions the three main kid actors have to show in the face of adventure and danger, that’s pretty impressive. The actress who plays Eva (Hanna Obbeek) is particularly good at conveying both nervous fear and a steely will at the same time. Nice.
Overall, I liked this movie quite a bit. If you want to check it out, you should be able to find it on DVD before long (helpful tip: the Dutch title of the movie is Briefgeheim). However, a warning: there are a few scenes with guns and a couple that put the characters in immediate, real-world peril. If that’s not your thing, maybe it’s best not to seek this one out.
This brings us to the end of Movie Week™ on the blog, but a reminder: Sprockets is on until the end of the weekend, so if you’re in the Toronto area there’s still time to see some films. Click here to see the schedule.
Talk to you next week!
Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com
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Craig, did you seriously trade mark Movie Week?
Good question, Tia! No, I didn’t. I just thought it was funny. (Was it?!)
I thought it was kinda funny. But that’s just my opinion. 😀
dont worry Craig – it’s funny :)))
lol
Thanks, Mary and Tia!
I don’t get it, Craig…I don’t see it…could somebody show me, please?
Hey Hannah. It’s just the little ™ symbol after “Movie Week.” I didn’t ACTUALLY trademark “Movie Week,” but maybe I should’ve! It’s getting a great response!
Ohhhhh! Thanks Craig!
Craig, you should change your picks that are called: Craig’s Pick’s. They are kinda old movies and there are other ones now. Just a suggsten!!
I dont get what you mean….. ?
oh nevermind I get it. that’s a good idea, Hannah, 10 but remember : New friends are silver and old are gold, make new friends but keep the old.You see, movies are like friends!! 😉
*and ToyStory3 NEVER gets old. i repeat: NEVER. =best movie in all of history….i criiieeedd :’)
My little brother think’s Toy Story 3 NEVER get’s old too, Mary…but I don’t know…the new movie’s look/are good, like: Hop, Barbie: A Fairy Secret, Rio, Rango, Yogi Bear, Tron, Tangled, Gulliver’s Travels, etc…But you are right about one thing: New Friend’s are Silver and Old are Gold, make new friend’s but keep the old…it’s a good mrole and a great motto…I still think the movie’s are old…just my thought. 🙂
Good reminder. It is about time I freshened those up!
No! How to train your dragon is one of the best all time movies! Don’t change it!
I hear you, Madeleine! I felt the same way when I had to replace Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and WALL-E. What a good year THAT was!
I love Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and WALL-E!!
I love Rango I watched it the other day. Hannah, 10 – have you watched all those movies or just heard of them??
I’ve watched some…
That movie sounds pretty cool!
PS: Craig, have you ever watched the Harry Potter Movies or read the books?
You bet! I’ve read the first three books and have Kendra’s copy of The Goblet of Fire here on my desk, and I’ve seen all the movies. I even wrote reviews of the last two for the blog. Here are the links:
Half-blood Prince: http://www.owlkids.com/?p=290
Deathly Hallows: Part I: http://www.owlkids.com/?p=663
I didn’t say that!!
Hi Hannah, 10. I noticed a couple comments that didn’t seem like they were yours, so I deleted them.
Just a quick rules note for everyone here on the blog: it’s not okay to post comments as others. If it continues, I will have to block the IP address of whoever is doing it. That said, I don’t want to lose anyone, so let’s just all comment as ourselves! Cool?
Thanks!
Sounds cool! And the movie week trademark is awesome!