SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The island is most know for its beaches, and the exotic fantasy are created in the minds of most who don't actually live on an island. The sea which brought us together is what keeps us apart. The life of the islander is a contradiction, sometimes its a prison sentence , and other times its sunshine, and beaches in paradise . This film is a touching story about survival and it shared the reality of the island, its people and their relation with the rest of the world.

This New Zealand production, directed by Andrew Adamson (of Shrek fame) is based on a critically acclaimed book, which I have not read, that apparently takes place on an unnamed island in the Pacific. The filmmakers decided to set the story on the island of Bougainville, which is part of the independent country of Papua New Guinea.There is a war raging, and a hostile military harass the villagers believing they are sheltering the rebels. As this goes on, a young girl becomes fascinated by the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, which is being read at school by the teacher (Hugh Laurie), the only white man in the village. The causes of the war are never explained in the movie, though a quick internet search tells it involves rebels who want Bougainville to become independent of Papua (happily the war seems to have ended now, with Bougainville becoming an autonomous region). As for the movie, the constant references to Great Expectations didn't do too much for me (and I did read the Dickens' classic, though as a child, so I don't remember it very much). I was more interested in the movie almost ethnographic side, showing the daily lives of the people there with their traditional lifestyle in the midst of a very beautiful place. The movie never convincingly explains why the teacher is there, or why he feels is better to teach them Western literature than practical skills (and frankly, for what it is shown in the movie, he's not much of a teacher). If you come to think of it, the movie is a bit condescending, as it has a Western man teaching the natives how to feel, think, all in the village end up looking up to him, etc.Laurie is lost in the role, but the native actors are very good, especially Xzannjah Matsi as the girl Matilda. The best performance, however, is by the actor playing the evil officer in charge of the Papuan troops (from reading the final credits, I believe his name is David Kaumara). With some unbelievable plot turns, this film is not perfect, but very intriguing and very much well worth watching.

A great film...I thought Xzannjah Matsi, Healesville Joel and Hugh Laurie were amazing in this story set on Bougainville Island, part of the Solomon Islands, in Papua New Guinea. This film was a little brutal at times and unfortunately, demonstrates the heartless soul in some on this earth but a movie definitely worth the time and worth watching! Bougainville Island is a beautiful setting for this film where Hugh Laurie plays a teacher who takes the islands' children on a journey through a novel by Charles Dickens - Great Expectations. Set in a time of great island conflict over an open pit copper mine and the various fighting factions of the government and the island rebels. Beautifully done...well done!

A co-production between Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea, Mr Pip is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about the loss of innocence, and also about the power of the imagination and literature to inspire and change a person's life. This is a theme that has driven a number of other films like The Neverending Story, the darker The Reader, and even Freedom Writers. The film is set on Bougainville Island, in the eastern part of Papua New Guinea, in the late 1980s, which was a turbulent and troubled time for the residents. At that time Bougainville was the world's largest producer of copper. But a dispute between the mining companies and PNG rebels resulted in the mines being closed down. Most of the able bodied men and all of the white inhabitants have wisely left the island for the relative safety and stability of Australia. But one man has stayed behind. Tom Watts (played by Hugh Laurie, best known for playing the cynical doctor on popular TV series House) is a former actor who is married to a local woman (Florence Korokoro) and remains in the village. He decides to reopen the local school building which has been closed down. He begins to read Charles Dickens' classic novel Great Expectations to the village children, hoping that the words of one of England's greatest writers will distract them from the horrors surrounding them. His actions touch a chord with an intelligent and curious young girl named Matilda (played by newcomer Xzannajah Matsi). Her father has left for Australia, leaving Matilda in the care of her emotionally fragile, deeply troubled and deeply religious mother. Matilda often indulges in flights of fancy where she imagines herself living in the story itself and carrying on her own romance with Pip (Eka Darville). But the civil war itself is never far away and the presence of soldiers looking for rebels and their supporters brings danger and death to the village. Laurie plays against type here, but he brings a world weary quality and a sense of regret and loss to his performance. His Watts is not a hero in the conventional sense, but in some ways his actions are heroic. The rest of the cast largely comprises of nonprofessionals who deliver realistic and credible performances as the villagers. Also impressive is newcomer Xzannjah, who brings a wonderful sense of innocence and resilience to her performance. The film is based on the novel written by Lloyd Jones, and the material obviously resonated with New Zealand born director Andrew Adamson, who also spent some time in Papua New Guinea while growing up. Mr Pip gives us a glimpse into the culture, spiritual beliefs and politics of this exotic and unfamiliar location, but he doesn't shy away from depicting some of the violence and harrowing reality of life for the villagers. Mr Pip is a labour of love for Adamson, who is better known for his work on more family oriented fare like the first two animated Shrek series and the special effects driven Chronicles Of Narnia. But he handles the material here effectively, and doesn't flinch away from showing some of the darker aspects of life in this deceptively idyllic island location which is being torn apart by civil war. Mr Pip has been beautifully photographed by Australian cinematographer John Toon, who captures the lush forest setting. The film is let down slightly by some pacing problems, some obvious plot holes, and an unsatisfactory ending.