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Summary: Billy Elliot rocks
Review: I watched this film when it first came out. I didn't think much much of it then. I just watched it again and wow! It is a story of a coal miner and his son(s). The younger one has to take boxing lessons and in doing so discovers the world of ballet. He uses the boxing lesson money for ballet and...The reaction of his dad and older brother to his dancing makes the film. Throw in a poof! as the gay young friend is called and we have some comic relief.
I don't cry during films but this one I did twice. you'll like it
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Summary: such a great movie.
Review: this is on my top 5 list of all time favourite movies. the story of this young boy who follows his dreams no matter what anyone else says is such a heart warming and moving movie.
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Summary: Best film since Gandhi!!!!!
Review: Great story of a young boy's struggle to break free from his harsh environment through dance. Breathtaking acting and dancing by Jamie Bell. I hope we will see more of him. A very moving and touching film. I have not seen a good film as this one for decades. Absolute top!!!
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Summary: An Earthy Comedy
Review: Billy Elliot was a surprising movie. I liked the premise and expected to like the movie. What I didn't expect was to be taken into the gritty reality of the lives of the characters. From the grandmother with alzheimers to the brother and father on strike from the local mine, from the cross-dressing best friend to the dance teacher with an unfullfilling marriage, it's the characters that surround Billy that make this story so exceptional and touching. This movie isn't just a story about a boy who dances, it about the dance of life that surrounds him. Truly a touching movie, and yes, boys CAN dance and not be gay.
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Summary: Bloody good
Review: I was surprised--this movie takes a rougher approach to the rising star predicament than expected. Interesting backdrop (miners on strike during Thatcher era), very emotional, true, often hilarious, not too saccharine, all-around fascinating and rewarding movie. The acting is first-rate.
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Summary: Who knew a swan could look like a skinny redheaded kid, eh?
Review: My English Prof made us watch Billy Elliot in class, and I have to say this is an excellent film. Everything in this film has a purpose from the music to the usage of steel. This film evokes so much emotion that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes it so great. Billy was in him this great means of expression. Even before he learns to dance, he has a rhythm to the way he moves. And one day, he finds that he can dance, and has great potiental. However, the world he lives in does not allow boys to dance. Billy knows that *this* is what he is supposed to do, what he was made to do, what he needs to do, but there are so many things in his way that it seems impossible. Through love and hope, eventually his family changes their world to allow his to go after his dream. Awesome film.
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Summary: Cute, but how can you refuse?
Review: It's not the best art-house movie ever, but gosh it is a lot
better than so many films. Simple story. Simple is good.
Predictable? Yes. Ingenious nonetheless? Yes.
No heavy aftertaste. Yum.
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Summary: so cute and touching
Review: Billy Elliott is growing up in a grotty little English town during the coalminer's strike of the 1980s, meaning his dad and older brother are out of work. His mom has died years ago and his grandmother is ill. But his dad spends some money to send him to boxing lessons anyway so he can be a real man. At the rec hall where his lessons are held, Billy sees a ballet class in session and decides to join since he isn't any good at boxing anyway. Turns out he is good at ballet ..... Julie Walters is great as the ballet instructor, and Jamie Bell is a marvel as Billy Elliott, danseur extraordinaire. Billy has a best friend who apparently likes to dress up in women's clothes though Billy himself is not gay. The movie is great in how it shows the struggle to be yourself without letting your loved ones down, and the loved ones coming to terms that maybe they can't force someone to fit a preconceived mold.
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Summary: Deeply Moved by Billy Elliot
Review: I saw this movie months ago, and I couldn't help instantly fell in love with it.
Billy Elliot, a young talented boy, has the love in ballet, although couldn't obtain his father's support but he still keeps the faith. This is something in the reality people used to lack of. We have a goal, but confront with obstacles, and we give it up. I really learned a lot from Billy Elliot.
In addition, Billy's father although seems to be a callous man, but in fact we can eventually know that he loves his little boy so deeply, that he's willing to do any sacrifice to give Billy the opportunity.
And the teacher, Julie Walters, does her job so well, keen to give Billy a good training, meanwhile can also listen to Billy's heart, give Billy not only ballet skills, but also a tender and warm care.
I was really moved by this hardly seen very nice movie, and I know you must will also love it. Its music is also a masterpiece, I even bought its OST, and listen to it over and over again.
Buy this DVD, it will not waste any penny you give!
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Summary: THE ELEVATION OF BILLY
Review: . Does the perfect movie exist? Billy Elliot must come very close. From its brilliant casting, to clever cinematography to ... foot stomping choreography, this movie has got it all. The freshness and originality of Billy Elliot almost jumps off the screen. The British production house, Working Title Films over the last five years or so have had some great hits: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, Elizabeth and in late 2000 we got Billy Elliot. They take great risks by using untried scriptwriters, directors and young actors and somehow have produced a string of fabulous movies. The plot of Billy Elliot is simple enough; a North Country lad from a coal mining family discovers the joys of dance. Against opposition from his father and elder brother, young Billy discovers himself and his talents. All this happens within the vortex of Margaret Thatcher's mid-1980's economic and social revolution, which swirls around them. At first glance, you might be tempted to classify Billy Elliot into the well-trodden school of gritty, British social realism, best expressed by Ken Loach of Cathy Come Home fame. Although mostly set in a working class world, the direction and camera work captures scenes of outstanding beauty. Cranes and bridges move like graceful, colourful birds; a kitchen table containing just two sauce bottles and duck-egg blue salt and pepper shakers has the aesthetics of an Old Master's still life. The film's Director of Photography, Brian Tufano, has been quoted as saying, "... framing, composition, colours and texture are the elements you need to convey a story." Some scenes captured by Tufano's camera are nothing short of magical. We have Billy and his girlfriend Debbie walking past a wall of riot-shielded policemen. She nonchalantly rattles a stick along the shields and then she passes behind a parked police van. The van moves off and Debbie has disappeared. Has she been beamed up or abducted? Billy's elder brother, Tony, a hotheaded union agitator, is chased along the streets near the Elliot family's terrace house. The lanes are full of virginal white, bedsheets hanging out to dry. Tony gets caught up in these as the police lay into him with their truncheons. We have the understatement of only seeing his blood seeping through the shroud-like sheets. If this movie were out of today's Hollywood, it would have been full-on gore. Despite the drama and action in this scene, it has an almost comic touch, with the soundtrack giving us The Clash doing London Calling. The chase through the streets and houses could come straight from a Max Sennet Keystone Cops movie from the 1920s. In the reconciliation scene between Billy and his Dad, we see the two of them perched on a fence. A cemetery - where Billy's Mum lies buried - is in the foreground. Behind the fence is a field of golden ripe corn and on the skyline there are the sinister looking headframes of the coal mines. When we see the two of them wrestling and laughing in the cornfield, we are reminded that truly emotionally moving scenes in movies are possible without relying on Hollywood's formulaic schmaltz. The blending of classical and contemporary music throughout the movie, both as a setting for the dance routines and as background music is natural and seamless. The climactic final scene, which is set 14 years later, has Billy debuting in a starring role in the Royal Ballet's Swan Lake. The build-up and tension from Tchaikovsky's music takes us to that transcending moment where Billy launches himself into a grand jete, where he seems to float in space. Billy Elliot is a film that appeals at many levels, but the best recommendation is to just sit back and enjoy one of the best movies you will see in a long time. As a footnote, it's worth seeing the DVD version of the movie since the subtitles will really help you get the most from the subtle nuances in the thickly accented dialogue.
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