Thanks for the memories!

From my favorite movies..

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

This movie is a must see for everyone, whether you are a little girl or an adult. even if you don't believe in fairy tale you should watch this movie. It is as sweet as it can be , well staged and the cinematography is so beautiful that for once you will surely forgot about all the cruelty and chaos of the world and see the beauty in each aspect of life and praise it.this film is about love, kindness , magic and full of heart.This movie is spellbinding and a fascinating movie to watch. It will make you want to cry at many moments.Guys see this movie it is a must watch for everybody.

I haven't read the book, but I have read outraged IMDb comments from fans of it. Some of the comments seem delusional, but there are some that sound like legitimate gripes. Certainly the ending is far too easy... not for children perhaps, but for me it felt cheap. And the pathology of the wicked headmistress is only hinted at, but never explored and as a result she just comes off like a one-dimensional evil bitch. But there's a lot of delight to be had in the movie. As with PRISONER OF AZKABAN, Cuaron demonstrates a masterful sense of style and ability to craft a tale that's enjoyable for the kids and also engaging for the grown-ups. The set design and color palette is gorgeous, and young Liesel Matthews is endearing in the lead. I also enjoyed the Indian flights of fancy and the general spirit of the thing. Despite some missteps, a charming little picture.

From director Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men), I had seen the trailer for this film many times and always been curious to try the film, especially with it being rated the full five out of five stars, so when it was available I watched enthusiastically. Basically eleven year old Sara Crewe (introducing Liesel Matthews) and her wealthy father Capt. Crewe (Liam Cunningham) leave their home in India and move to New York, and he leaves her in an all girls boarding school while he enlists in the British Army. The school is run by the severe Miss Minchin (Eleanor Bron), and soon enough the bored and mundane lives of the girls are made better by Sara who becomes popular with her stories of "The Ramayana", much to the dislike of Miss Minchin and the irritation of spoilt bully Lavinia (Taylor Fry). After throwing a lavish birthday party, in which Miss Minchin wanted to extract money from Sara's father, word reaches them that he has apparently died in action, and with his estate seized by the British government the headmistress forces the innocent little girl to become a servant, alongside black servant Becky (The Lost World: Jurassic Park's Vanessa Lee Chester). Forced to stop telling stories and have her possessions, including her father's locket, taken from her, Sara only has her spirits lifted with the girls being on her side and helping her however they can, and with her belief that "every girl is a princess". Next door to the school is the mansion of rich old Charles Randolph (Arthur Malet) who wants his son to return from the war, and an injured soldier is brought to his home, it is not his son, but Capt. Crewe, suffering temporary blindness and memory loss, but Indian immigrant Ram Dass (Errol Sitahal) insists he be taken care of. One night Miss Minchin catches the other girls with Sara telling stories, and she punishes her and Becky with no food the next night, but they awaken to find a feast and palace setting, they originally imagined it, courtesy of Ram Dass. After Miss Minchin finds this she decides the police should be involved, because of possible stealing, and using a long plank Sara makes her escape across to Randolph's mansion next door. It is there she obviously is shocked and happy to see her father alive, but he does not recognise her, and Miss Minchin cruelly says that she has no family to get her away from him, but Ram Dass helps him remember and rescue her. In the end, Capt. Crewe has his fortune restored and buys himself the boarding school as the new headmaster and to make life for the girls much better, Miss Minchin is forced to be a chimney sweep alongside a young boy she originally mistreated, and Sara and Becky are going back to India together to live happily ever after, and all the girls, including Lavinia, saying their tearful goodbyes. Also starring Rusty Schwimmer as Amelia Minchin, Heather DeLoach as Ermengarde, Vincent Schiavelli as Mr. Barrow, The Ring's Rachael Bella as Betsy, The Lost World: Jurassic Park's Camilla Belle as Jane and Kelsey Mulrooney as Lottie. Matthews is wonderful as the imaginative and sweet young girl with her good spirit pushed to the limit, and Bron is fantastically vulgar as the subtly but equally knowingly evil (like Nurse Ratched style) villain headmistress, it is charming story with plenty of delightful and sweet moments, as well as true emotion, and the special effects give us moments in a surreal magical world, and it is a film that will appeal both to the adults and the children watching, a brilliant period fantasy drama. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Cinematography. Very good!

Yes, the film was visually beautiful. Truly. BUT - My issue isn't so much that her father was alive, although I thought they shouldn't have done that. Parents DO die and children are left to deal with it. That is REAL LIFE. However, I like film for escape, so okay - I'll give them a pass on that.My issue is with Sara. The Sara in the book was a MUCH better PERSON than the Sara Crewe in the film. In the film, Sara was spiteful and petty. She retaliated against those who wronged her. The whole POINT of the book was that horrible things happen and life is unfair and just because you are good doesn't mean good things will always happen to you. Unfair crap happens and it's how we RESPOND that matters.In the book, Sara Crewe had dignity and character. She took it on the chin and maintained her personal dignity. I was SO disappointed in the film. I've loved the book for my entire life. To have Sara changed so was a terrific disappointment.Given that the entire point of the book was Sara - who she was and how she handled horrible adversity - I must say I hated this film. I felt they destroyed the character.