Just about perfect

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2014)

Oh man...this is a film that the whole world needs to see. I confess I am guilty of taking 20 years after its release to sit down and watch it (though I recall when it was released critics said how great it was but, in the passage of time, I guess I just forgot to see it). Nevertheless, I am very happy that, finally, I did. It is gripping in the most charming of ways. The children are wonderful; the story so real (at least for those of us from a poor family background) and the narrative's progress utterly convincing.
Other contributors here have expressed the meaning of this film in far more eloquent and comprehensive ways than I ever could so, I will not go down the road of explaining the plot or its ramifications. What I will say though, which was also mentioned by other posters here, is that this film absolutely needs to be on IMDb's 'Top 250' list. It is everything we want from a film. If only 99% of the world's film makers did but know that.