A Great Family Movie
Nancy Sherburne | Tucson, Arizona, USA | 03/16/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have had this movie on a VHS tape of mine for I have no idea how many years and it will be great to get it on a DVD. Such a powerful statement on family values and being honest with each other. The movie begins where Jesse has to sell off his home in Kentucky and move to Cinccinnati so his young daughter can get the operation she needs because she has scoliosis. Then he takes his son to school, telling him to fill out the paper work because he needs to find a job. As the movie unfolds, we see Jesse giving us clues that lead up to an unfortunate condition shared by many -- he is not able to read. When his son tells him he is being dropped a grade because of his schoolwork, Jesse has it out with the assistant principal played by Brenda Vacarro who lets him know her father may have a job for him. Jesse meets her Italian father played very ably by Eli Wallach who not only hires him, but in finding out Jesse's secret, fixes him up with his daughter to teach him to read. So begins a relationship between two strong-willed people who draw the viewers into their disagreements with each other, one trying to prove he can cope with things on his own and the other determined to get him to accept help. Not forgotten are his daughter who is stuck in bed while recuperating from her operation, and his son who has a secret of his own. In the end, both come to terms with it, and work together to conquer it. Throughout the movie are terrific Johnny Cash songs including Paradise, and I'll Be A Diamond Someday. A movie with well-developed characters and an uplifting ending.
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