Dear reader,
I know the title may sound a bit cheesy-stupid and
this is supposed to be a story worth watching and being reviewed by
me? Yes!
Martian Child tells the – as always in case of movies
only partly – true story of the writer David Gerrold and the
experiences of a small boy named Dennis, whom he decided to adopt.
I'll first tell you a bit of the story as told in the movie and then
of the book, which I have read, too.
David (played by John Cusack) is a science-fiction
writer, who's books are also made into movies. Even before the movie
starts, his wife has died. Now he's living alone with his dog. One
day he gets the idea of maybe adopting a child. He wants somebody
around again and wants to do something good. With so many children
without a proper home, it only seems right to adopt a child. Even
though his sister Liz (played by John Cusack's real life oder sister,
Joan Cusack) explicitly warns him about that, “Listen, the thing
about kids, and I wouldn't trade mine for the world, is that they
keep comin' at you, all right? They're... they're like mosquitoes,
suckin' the life out of you. They take away your life, your privacy,
your identity...”
But David already has contacts to a children's home
and they also have a possible special boy in mind for him. The
special thing about Dennis (powerfully played by Bobby Coleman) is,
that he's certain to be from mars. It takes a while for Dennis to
build up contact to David. He is in a box turned upside down in the
children's home all the time, to protect himself from the sunlight.
During a ride with the car, Dennis likes the “holding-down belt”.
It guarantees him to be staying on earth ant not float away, much
like the weights he is constantly wearing around his ankles.
Of course you can't just adopt a child like that.
There are doctors and other organisations, that want to check
everything is ok and want to have talks. Especially since Dennis is a
bit difficult what with his idea of being from mars and also he
steals from other children and David's things, too. Those check-ups
aren't always pre-announced.
Although Dennis is certainly somewhat unusual, he is
nevertheless very charming and David is a very trying and sympathetic
and patient father for him. Probably what safes them both is the fact
that David, as a writer, just simply has the time to take care of
Dennis and since he's working from home, he also isn't away as much
as other single parents would naturally be. There are repeatedly very
funny moments. My favourite quote from Dennis however is something he
says to David during a baseball game. David tries to explain the game
to him and what it means when the players are really good. Because
then they are a superstar! To which Dennis says, in a stunningly
matter-of-fact way, “Superstars don't exists. Only supernovas and
white dwarfs.”
But one night, when David is on an event for his
books, he comes home and his sister has to tell him that Dennis ran
away unnoticed. And then there's the final talk with the authorities
and Dennis to decide whether Dennis can actually stay with David. I
will not tell you how those two very exciting moments are concluded.
You'll have to see that for yourself, really. It's well worth it.
There are a lot of funny moments, at least one really sad one as well
and there's drama and excitement also. I enjoy watching that movie
time and again. Especially how everything is developing between
Dennis and David with both of them being very unsure and insecure and
then coming together, I just like seeing that progress. This progress
and the many different emotions that come up, at least inside me when
I'm watchting that movie, makes it worth watching for me every time.
The title really shouldn't keep you away from it!
I can't tell you about the movie extras in america,
because I don't have that version. My european version at least also
includes an interview with the “real” Dennis and David and also
insight into how the movie was made. Especially hearing what it was
it is like for Dennis and David now and what they think of the past
and their time together at the beginning, is a nice extra for me. The
german synchronisation is quite well done, by the way. With one
exception, which I don't understand at all and frankly find
outrageously done in the execution. It certainly could have been done
a different way, I think. David's dog is called “Somewhere” in
English. Which makes it a nice playing with words of a direction as
well as a name when you say, “Somewhere a dog barked.” In the
movie in german they called him “Once upon a time”. I think,
“Irgendwo” (the german “somewhere”) would have worked, too.
But maybe I'm just picky...
In “real life” the adoption was a bit more
complicated. The authorities don't like a single parents adopting a
child much anyway. The “real” David Gerrold however also is gay.
Certainly nothing dramatic, but also not really exactly a plus in the
eyes of the authorities either. All in all there are many moments
from the film in the book and vice versa. I personally found the
situation when Dennis runs away more dramatic and depicted more
exciting in the movie. The situation in the book was a little bit
different, and especially the reasons why Dennis ran away at that
moment. In fact I found his motivation in the book even quite a bit
more sad and dramatic, even though it is depicted in a more dangerous
way in the movie. I've seen the movie first and only read the book
afterwards. I don't know if it's because of that and because I had
certain ideas in my head already. In any case, I liked the movie a
bit more. The book seemed in some parts like it was cut and I wished
that some moments would have gone on a bit longer, explained a bit
more in how they went on. But instead came a new paragraph and a new
experience. Nevertheless the book is worth reading, too.
Until next blog,
sarah
