Poorly directed

Rating: 1/10 (20 September 2003)

It is difficult to watch this problem-ridden film. The lead actor often mouths the dialog of the kid as the little kid speaks his lines. Whenever the two speak with each other face to face, the man is mouthing the words as the little kid speaks.
As the German officer and waiter attempt to secretly speak with each other in crowded rooms, their body language and darting over-the-shoulder glances REEK of guilty activity. A flashing neon sign over two 6-year-olds as they try to steel mom's cookies as she is at the nearby stove stirring the soup. Come on, with a room full of high functioning adults, EVERYONE would notice their dumb behavior.
The first half of the film contains little more than over-acted clowning. In the second half, nothing plays true. What this movie needed was some self-aware sarcasm, some winking sign of intelligence.
The camera work is all right. However, the background music used seemed lifted from carnival rides.