exceptional first half, half success the second one

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2018)

The Good:
First half is exceptional, no doubt about it. The mistery about the room is kept just right, the mother-son relationship feels real and yet it´s all covered with a lovely sense of fantasy. Most of all there are a couple of scenes of almost unbearable beauty that capture successfully all the ashtonishment the mere existence of this world can bring to any of us. The film´s concept is necessary for these to work, and they do indeed, in what can potentially be a powerful and beautiful eye-opening experience.
I´m generally against voice-overs but the kid´s narrations are wonderful. One of them specifically is brilliant as a joyful tearjerker.
The Bad:
The second half isn´t remotely as confident as the first one. That´s a pity because the point is very interesting and had the potential to become a seriously outstanding film.
Focusing on the boy is a great way to manage such a complicated emotion as the adaptation to the real world and the film should probably have gone all the way with that idea. We don´t really see the world through his eyes as much as it is intended to because we´re stepping out of him too often. The childish amazement loses most of the presence for quite a while. We´re left with small bits of information about other characters while the boy´s transition loses detail.
The Ugly:
This is the kind of film that inspires reactionary ratings. We´ll see how it holds up with time. Some people might want to put it down because most people will overlook its flaws in favor of the torrent of emotions it produces at its best moments.