To Those Disillusioned European Males Out There...

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2002)

I've read some negative comments about this flick coming from European (especially British) male reviewers. Pretty much, what they have to say is that the movie sucks because it is either totally unbelievable or a `remake' of `Here on Earth.'
Now, I'm a male, I'm European, and I grew up in Europe. I think I have an idea or two on why European males consider this movie totally unrealistic. Let's get to the core of the issue here.
The plain truth is that Christianity is a mystery in Europe, especially for the new generations. Girls like Jamie Sullivan in Europe are like white flies (even among the evangelical Christians that I know over there!); therefore, when your typical European guy sees this movie, he'll be thinking, `This thing does not make sense'
See, the truth is that Europeans can relate more to the girl of `Here on Earth,' who does not have any problem betraying her boyfriend with the main character of the flick, or with the girl of `Autumn in New York,' who does not have any problem flirting with the male lead after five seconds she's known him (and going to bed with him after fifteen minutes), even though the guy could be her father and actually had something going on with the girl's mother a few years before.
See, those kinds of creepy things are perfectly acceptable in a movie for your average European guy. But, when you see the pure and innocent love story of `A WALK,' they say: `Already done.' Already done? Really? A love story where two teenagers do not go to bed and yet show the greatest intimacy you can see in a movie, where the guy blesses his girlfriend with total love without expecting anything back, just for the sake of making her whole. You've seen this in many movies? Really? Ok, I'll tell you what. Name one other recent movie where you see the kind of unconditional love, purity, innocence, redemption, forgiveness, and spiritual growth (the average European guy will want to look up the words `spiritual' and `growth' in the dictionary, since he's probably not accustomed with them) that you see in `A WALK' Since, this story has been done so many times, you won't have any problems naming at least one other movie, right? Oh, and please, do not come up with a movie like `Life as a House.' I saw that one, and it falls under the same category as `Autumn in New York' and `Here on Earth;' movies that want to win my heart by showing one aspect of love while showing lack of respect for all or most of its other characteristics.
One final word of advice for your average European guy out there: look up the word `love' in your dictionary. Too many years of European cultural influence might have led you to confuse it with the words `Lust,' `Selfishness,' and `Sex.'
fscinico@yahoo.com