Rating: 
Summary: A Review on Man Without a Face
Review: The protagonist of the movie is a former teacher whose face has been burnt by an unexpected accident. He lives avoiding the public's notice and one day he meets a solitary boy without father who aims at the officer school. The boy asks him to give private lessons to help him pass the entrance exam of the school. The process in which the relationship between the teacher and the student changes gradually into friendship of two men is described impressively. This is a human drama which does not seem like a movie starring Mel Gibson and it is very impressive. I thought what the true friendship is by seeing this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Gibson Hits a Home Run as Actor and Director
Review: The story behind the story is that Mel Gibson, who directed this movie, was not his own first choice to play the lead. The rumor I heard was that he wanted William Hurt to play it. While I'm sure that William Hurt would have been a fine choice, it's hard to imagine anyone doing it any better than Mel Gibson did. With this movie, Gibson proved himself a good director and a good dramatic actor."The Man Without A Face" tells the story of a young boy, played finely by Nick Stahl, who lives in a highly dysfunctional family. His mother is well-meaning but totally incompetent as a mother, and she spends most of her time trying to find the right man for her. The boy's father, whom the boy has idolized and idealized, is absent, and the boy is left to raise himself. The family spends its summers on an island (off the coast of Maine?), where they own or rent a small cottage. The boy's goal is to attend the military school that his father attended and, as the story opens, the family is arriving on the island and the boy has dedicated himself to spending this summer in preparing for the entrance exam for the military school. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson is a mysterious recluse living in a huge house overlooking the ocean. Rumors abound about his past, and all anybody really knows is that half of his face is badly burned and he seldom leaves his home. As one rumor has it that the recluse was once a teacher, the boy tries to engage the recluse as a tutor. The recluse rejects the idea, but the boy is persistent. The recluse relents and becomes a strict taskmaster and excellent teacher. Somewhere along the line, the two realize that a friendship has been created. I won't give away any more of the story, but it has several twists and turns, related to the tragic past of the recluse. This is a wonderful movie to watch with your children from ages ten and up. Issues related to determination, goal-setting, the value of work, dealing with rumors, prejudice, and how to accurately judge people are addressed. The acting is first-rate, and I'm glad that Mr. Hurt (or whomever it was) was unavailable and/or uninterested in taking the part. Whomever it was might be kicking himself now, though.
Rating:
Summary: Gibson Hits a Home Run as Actor and Director
Review: The story behind the story is that Mel Gibson, who directed this movie, was not his own first choice to play the lead. The rumor I heard was that he wanted William Hurt to play it. While I'm sure that William Hurt would have been a fine choice, it's hard to imagine anyone doing it any better than Mel Gibson did. With this movie, Gibson proved himself a good director and a good dramatic actor. "The Man Without A Face" tells the story of a young boy, played finely by Nick Stahl, who lives in a highly dysfunctional family. His mother is well-meaning but totally incompetent as a mother, and she spends most of her time trying to find the right man for her. The boy's father, whom the boy has idolized and idealized, is absent, and the boy is left to raise himself. The family spends its summers on an island (off the coast of Maine?), where they own or rent a small cottage. The boy's goal is to attend the military school that his father attended and, as the story opens, the family is arriving on the island and the boy has dedicated himself to spending this summer in preparing for the entrance exam for the military school. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson is a mysterious recluse living in a huge house overlooking the ocean. Rumors abound about his past, and all anybody really knows is that half of his face is badly burned and he seldom leaves his home. As one rumor has it that the recluse was once a teacher, the boy tries to engage the recluse as a tutor. The recluse rejects the idea, but the boy is persistent. The recluse relents and becomes a strict taskmaster and excellent teacher. Somewhere along the line, the two realize that a friendship has been created. I won't give away any more of the story, but it has several twists and turns, related to the tragic past of the recluse. This is a wonderful movie to watch with your children from ages ten and up. Issues related to determination, goal-setting, the value of work, dealing with rumors, prejudice, and how to accurately judge people are addressed. The acting is first-rate, and I'm glad that Mr. Hurt (or whomever it was) was unavailable and/or uninterested in taking the part. Whomever it was might be kicking himself now, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is Mom when you need her?
Review: This film is about people who judge another without knowing a thing about him - just make up a story! It also portrays how the members of some families in American today occasionally cross paths knowing little about each other. Throw in an incompetent, egotistical, selfish mother who is less interested in her children than in her next lover, and it is no wonder the boy turns to a stranger who is badly scarred for acceptance, encouragement, guidance, help and love. Too bad, McLeod could not have been accepted for who he seemed to be - a man who had been through a horrible ordeal trying to live in peace with others. Instead, all because he tried to befriend and aid a child (who, by the way, was a very dishonest child), he was silently judged guilty of who knows what crimes, all without trial, by a few disgusting bigots in this lovely vacation town. An interesting study of a dysfunctional fatherless family being raised by a single mom who has more money than brains. Good thing Gibson was in the movie to save the day, and the boy played his part well.
Rating:
Summary: Where is Mom when you need her?
Review: This film is about people who judge another without knowing a thing about him - just make up a story! It also portrays how the members of some families in American today occasionally cross paths knowing little about each other. Throw in an incompetent, egotistical, selfish mother who is less interested in her children than in her next lover, and it is no wonder the boy turns to a stranger who is badly scarred for acceptance, encouragement, guidance, help and love. Too bad, McLeod could not have been accepted for who he seemed to be - a man who had been through a horrible ordeal trying to live in peace with others. Instead, all because he tried to befriend and aid a child (who, by the way, was a very dishonest child), he was silently judged guilty of who knows what crimes, all without trial, by a few disgusting bigots in this lovely vacation town. An interesting study of a dysfunctional fatherless family being raised by a single mom who has more money than brains. Good thing Gibson was in the movie to save the day, and the boy played his part well.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite
Review: This is my all-time favorite movie. I hate that it's not well-known. Wonderful actors, wonderful script. I love it!!!!
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite
Review: This is my all-time favorite movie. I hate that it's not well-known. Wonderful actors, wonderful script. I love it!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Mel Gibson directs and stars in this unusual love story
Review: This is the movie version of a fairly old novel written by Isabelle Holland. Gibson directs his first movie, and stars as Justin McLeod, the "man without a face". The story is set on a holiday island off the East coast. Justin used to teach at a boys school. He had a tragic accident while driving one of the boys, killing the boy and becoming disfigured in the fire resulting from the crash. There are overtones about his relationship with the dead boy that are not developed in either the movie or the novel. Now he has retreated into himself, and has become the village recluse and ogre. The gorgeous Nick Stahl plays Chuck, the fourteen year old boy who shares the stage with Gibson. Chuck needs tutoring if he's to make it into his choosen high school. The two begin a grudging relationship that starts with tutoring in school subjects. It progresses into a deeper relationship of mutual respect and caring. The boy comes to realize that Justin really cares for him, and will provide the love and guidance that he desperately needs. The crisis comes when Chuck runs away from his mother and spends the night at Justin's cottage. There he is discovered by the sherrif next morning wearing only his Jockeys. While nothing untoward has happened during the night, it looks bad for the pair. Justin is tried for assaulting Chuck. To spare the boy, he pleads guilty and is sent to jail. Most unfair! Years later, Chuck graduates from high school, having been really helped by Justin's tutoring. Justin reappears in the background, leaving unanswered the question of the two salvaging their relationship. It is interesting to note that this story has homosexual overtones, although very subtle one, and Gibson is, by his own statements, not gay-positive. This is the first gay theme'd movie that Gibson has appeared in. Watch for young Nick Stahl in this movie. Not only is he a budding hunk, but he can act. He's got to be one of the better ones in the new crop of actors. I would compare him to Elijah Wood in the movie Paradiso. END
Rating:
Summary: Mel Gibson directs and stars in this unusual love story
Review: This is the movie version of a fairly old novel written by Isabelle Holland. Gibson directs his first movie, and stars as Justin McLeod, the "man without a face". The story is set on a holiday island off the East coast. Justin used to teach at a boys school. He had a tragic accident while driving one of the boys, killing the boy and becoming disfigured in the fire resulting from the crash. There are overtones about his relationship with the dead boy that are not developed in either the movie or the novel. Now he has retreated into himself, and has become the village recluse and ogre. The gorgeous Nick Stahl plays Chuck, the fourteen year old boy who shares the stage with Gibson. Chuck needs tutoring if he's to make it into his choosen high school. The two begin a grudging relationship that starts with tutoring in school subjects. It progresses into a deeper relationship of mutual respect and caring. The boy comes to realize that Justin really cares for him, and will provide the love and guidance that he desperately needs. The crisis comes when Chuck runs away from his mother and spends the night at Justin's cottage. There he is discovered by the sherrif next morning wearing only his Jockeys. While nothing untoward has happened during the night, it looks bad for the pair. Justin is tried for assaulting Chuck. To spare the boy, he pleads guilty and is sent to jail. Most unfair! Years later, Chuck graduates from high school, having been really helped by Justin's tutoring. Justin reappears in the background, leaving unanswered the question of the two salvaging their relationship. It is interesting to note that this story has homosexual overtones, although very subtle one, and Gibson is, by his own statements, not gay-positive. This is the first gay theme'd movie that Gibson has appeared in. Watch for young Nick Stahl in this movie. Not only is he a budding hunk, but he can act. He's got to be one of the better ones in the new crop of actors. I would compare him to Elijah Wood in the movie Paradiso. END
Rating:
Summary: Two Great Actors -- Directed by Mel Gibson Himself!
Review: This movie has a common theme but very good detailed acting. the boy Nick Stahl living with his widowed mother has friends, but his family issues are the prevailing trouble in the mind of Nick. He discovers that his father was a drunkard, and his mother has had multiple marriages and two other children. When Nick wants to move out of the house and take a college entrance exam, he jumps at the opportunity to replace his father with another father -- a tutor -- a teacher Mel Gibson, who lost one of his students in a car accident, finds Nick as a replacement, whereupon Mel could use his talents of teaching. This movie portrays the classic condition of American children in the 20th century. Parents do not stay with each other, and the Christian gospel is slowly, though perhaps temporarily, losing its effect on each subsequent generation. The movie is shouting to the public: "Please, renovate the American family! Fathers, please, teach your children (Biblically), and don't abandon them." Nick, by finding Mel as a father, does not "find himself," but reinforces for himself the natural, yet obscured and altered, concept of God's creation order: a father having loving authority over his son. Thematically similar movies, though not 5-star, in my opinion: APT PUPIL and THE CURE.
| 
