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(More customer reviews)I first started going to camp when I was 5 years old, just a year after this film was released, but I didn't see it until a few years later, when it was on TV. The first camp I went to was a co-ed camp. Kids ranged from 5 to 18 and were sometimes in a camp-wide group, but more often than not, age groups and genders were separated. As a group of hyper 5-year-old girls, we were taught some cheesy crafts, we went fishing, a little archery and "snipe" hunting. The purpose of snipe (an imaginary creature) hunting was to supposedly capture a live (never before seen) specimen.
One night we were told the entire camp was going to go on an Armadillo hunt. I was very excited... I had only seen armadillos on TV and I really wanted to be able to pet one (and sneak it home in my luggage if I could!). Little did I realize that some of the older boys had intended on really hunting one of these harmless creatures... right when I saw one, I got to see it blown to bits with a shot gun. There are moments like that that you never forget... a split second where one small part of you that was still a child, dies and turns into an adult... all in the twinkling of an eye.
I related to this movie in a million ways. I was one of those kids that no one noticed and if I had gone missing, no one would have remembered I was ever there until my parents showed up and asked for me. I was accustomed to being picked on at school, so I avoided interaction w/ the other kids and always did what I was told by adults... many of whom had no business being in charge of children.
The movie is slow in many places, but it exacerbates the feeling of lonliness and rejection felt by the group of outcasts in this film. I was in awe when I saw them stand up for what they believed in, rejecting authority and doing everything they could to save what could have very well been the last herd of buffalo on earth. They finally say, "no more! We're tired of crying, and now we're going to fight!"
A few funny moments, but those are there to break the tension... many poignant moments, boys confiding in their friends their deepest fears and longings... and there are the senseless tragic moments.
Even as a child, I was keenly aware from watching the news how endangered buffalo were at the time. While they're so common today as to be served up as alternative beef, when this movie was released there were less than 2,000 living specimens. This film must have certainly inspired a more fervent effort to increase their numbers.
Excellent performances by Billy Mumy, Barry Robins, Miles Chapin and others... not to mention the title song performed by The Carpenters. While I saw this film as a child and I survived the experience, I don't recommend this film for young children. The violence perpetrated against the animals in the film will be extremely upsetting to anyone, but especially to little kids... and some young children may find the film to be too slow to pay attention to at length.
If you haven't seen this film, it is a classic and abounding with great talent in these wise-beyond-their-years characters.
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