I Am David is adapted from Anne Holm's internationally acclaimed novel North to Freedom. It is the story of a 12-year-old boy, David, who escapes a Communist concentration camp with little more than a compass, a sealed letter, a loaf of bread, and instructions to carry the letter to Copenhagen, Denmark. David is thrust into the free world for the first time in his young life as he travels across Europe. It is a spiritual voyage of discovery, where David slowly loses his instinctual mistrust of humanity and begins to smile, share, trust and ultimately, love. I Am David addresses the cruelties, politics, and suffering of warfare while celebrating the resilience of youth and the unbreakable spirit of a child.
Directed by
Paul Feig
Written by
Anne Holm (novel); Paul Feig (screenplay).
Starring
Ben Tibber (David); James Caviezel (Johannes (as Jim Caviezel)); Joan Plowright (Sophie); Hristo Shopov (The Man); Silvia De Santis (Elsa); Paco Reconti (Giovanni); Roberto Attias (Baker); Francesco De Vito (Roberto); Paul Feig (American Man); Lucy Russell (American Woman); Maria Bonnevie (David's Mother); Viola Carinci (Maria); Marin Jivkov (Cecha); Robert Syulev (Angelo); Alessandro Sperduti (Carlo). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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Readers' Comments and Opinions
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Somewhere between a feature-film and a TV-film
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
After watching this film my father commented that it was a bit of a 'B-movie', which to be honest isn't too far off the mark. The performances are adequate and the scenery and cinematography are commendable but all-in-all I Am David struggles somewhat to really break through to feature film proportions. That said, the moral in the story is pretty strong and the adventure through scenic Europe that David travels on is one that will surely capture the attention of many a young boy. And so the basis on which I recommend this film is somewhere between green and amber - not quite good enough for a universal recommendation of green, but good enough to appeal to large swathes of young boys, for which a 'limited' recommendation may be too limiting, so to put it. I also feel the marketing of the film, with a large picture of Jim Caviezel on the poster, is misleading and a little dishonest due to his relatively minor role in the film. It is also not helpful in identifying the film's target audience. A mention does have to go to the commendable, if a little random, inclusion of St Elizabeth as well. Though surely for such a journeyman St Christopher might have been more appropriate. All in all I'd wait for this one to come on the television, but when it does it's worth a look for the youngsters.
