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The Boys of St. Vincent

The Boys of St. Vincent

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $23.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Boys of St. Vincent
Review: I seldon voice my opinion, yet this movie allowed me to see the rare, yet often focal point of how Catholic Priests are stereotyped. While true that less than .001 percent of Priests have fallen to this immoral sexual abuse, and when it does happen, this allows us to see both sides of the story portrayed in a realistic viewpoint. It not only awakens the realization that some children are traumatized by sexual abuse, it shows that the Priests are human too and not above the normal male (or female) as so often we are taught. I felt the movie could have focus more on the actual youth portion, yet the follow up into the adult lives desensitises the overall setting. There is NO nudity nor actual molesting shown, just implied.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mediocre Production
Review: It's hard to make a good true crime story, either the facts get in the way of the drama, or the drama gets in the way of the facts. Henry Czerny does a good job, and for a brief time in the early 1990s this TV production seemed a sure bet to catapult him into the ranks of recognizable and international film stardom (in the super-villain category), however moviegoers quickly tired of him and he never found a part with as much scary creepiness as playing Brother Lavin, the scourge of Mount Cashel.

I don't know, maybe if I was from Canada I'd give this another star. Director John N. Smith gets all the colorless drip of the orphanage right, but it looks doubly bleak if you're not from that part of the world. Meanwhile time passes and the boys who Lavin abused grow up and decide to deek a bit of revenge a la the US movie SLEEPERS with Brad Pitt. The second half of the movie isn't as chilling as the first one, but it provides a lot of satisfaction as justice is served--sort of. But in a crime such as child abuse, does the circle ever close up entirely and heal over? That, my friends, is still very much up in the air. The DVD offers nothing spectacular and in that way it suits the atmosphere of the original telefilm to a "T." Maybe it would be good to show this to children so that they would know if someone was molesting them and they could report the abuse to the police or to their guardians.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Sadistic cruel priest forces sex on young boys.
Review: Most of the reviews here I agree with, but want to make a couple of notes. Again hollywood presents a sadistic cruel rapist of young boys, and causes the stigma experienced by boy-lovers everywhere to be perpetuated. Any man loving boys would never do the mean vicious things the priese does. As far as the child nudity scene, it is not frontal nudity, not unappropriate (the scene get's the message across) and it may generate feelings of desire within you which makes you uncomfortable. This is not a family film, should not be seen by children, and is heavy duty for most adults. Just try to not stereotype the behavior protrayed here.

William


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: john's views
Review: So well acted by both adults and child-stars, I couldn't believe they were only acting. It was so real and heart-hitting. I didn't know there was a book too, I must read it sometime.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This will make you an advocate for children's rights
Review: Something not to read if you're alone. Most of the book made me angry at the adults who did not believe the children, and my heart broke that the children who asked for help were not avenged until many years later. The book is well written with the author keeping to the premis of the story and not straying with little stories or ramblings.

The movie, based on the book, contained excellent acting, especially by Canadian native Henry Czerny., who coincidentally is my favorite actor. His portrayal of a pedofile was very realistic and convincing. No other actor would have been as perfect as he in this role (I wonder what emotional or mental problems Mr. Czerny suffered during and after filming this movie. If he has suffered any ill effects they are not apparent in his future movies).

Again, this is a book (and movie) that will freeze your backbone and make you an advocate of children's rights. No other book written on the subject of child sexual abuse will be as compelling as this bok. END

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Painfully, this thing really happen.
Review: The Boys of St. Vincent, is one of the movies about child sexual abuse must complete, touching the psichologic point on the boys and their abuser,an splendid performance on all the actor, boys and adult, this is an exellent film what will broke your heart and will teach you how much we must believe in the childrens when them ask us for help. Is a consiousness film about life.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Truth is More Disgusting than Fiction!!!!
Review: The movie, about the sexual abuse of children in an orphanage, the cover up on the part of everyone in the know, and the truth coming to light several years later, is based on a true story.

In the late 80s St. Johns, Newfoundland was the sight of a major sex abuse scandal. The Mt. Cashel orphanage located there, which was supposed to a model institution, had been the scene of repeated instances of sexual abuse of its charges several years earlier. Investigations revealed that authorities had been made aware that approximately 30 boys had been victimized, but chose not to proceed with criminal prosecutions. As the scandal widened the Catholic church, social services agencies, the police, and certain politicians were implicated in the cover up.

Once all was said and done, several former officials at the school were jailed for their crimes.

Regretfully, it was only the tip of the iceberg. In the years following, there have been so many instances of institutionalized sexual abuse of children, particularly those involving the Catholic church, that it is no longer shocking.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Excellent Hard Hitting - but why nude kids?
Review: the story shown in the movie is hard hitting but somewhat depressing. It shows how the trauma effected the men later in life, and it was not something you would want to happen to any child. I do think the movie could have been done without actually having nude children in some of the scenes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: two thumbs up
Review: This movie about child sexual abuse was very well done. It is to bad tha it took the Authorities too long to beleive these children,and finally get to the justice part. All in all an excellant movie. A must see movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Heartbreaking
Review: This movie is a display of awful bureacracy. There are so many cover-ups in the World, with this one being one of the worst to be brought to the screen. I couldn't stop watching, I couldn't believe my eyes. I agree that Henry Czerny did a fantastic job of portraying a pedophile. That has to be one of the most challenging acting jobs of all time. I could never do it. I felt bad after the movie because at times through part II (when Lavin is speaking to the psychologist), I almost felt sorry for the character of Lavin. But the real tragedy are the children. It has been proven that sexually abused children usually become drug and alcohol abusers when they become adults (as seen in the character of Steve). They just can't deal with the painfor their entire lives. All in all, an excellent movie, a great eye-opener. Thumbs up to the National Film Board of Canada too. Very brave of them to make a movie like this.


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