FOUR MILLION HOUSEGUESTS
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
The experience of seeing an IMAX film is one that no one should miss. This is about my tenth IMAX film and at least the fourth in amazing 3D. There is nothing quite like it.
Surrounded by state of the art sound, the picture is projected onto a screen that is some ninety feet wide and five to six stories high. This is about 10 times the size of a usual screen with subjects magnified as much as 40,000 times. For the 3D version of IMAX, viewers watch while wearing a very comfortable headset equipped with special lenses which give the viewer the impression the action on the screen is a mere 18 inches in front of one's seat. There is the feeling that if you reach out in front of you, you will touch the scenery or the actors. Incredibly realistic.
The latest IMAX 3D is FOUR MILLION HOUSEGUESTS, a you-won't-want-to-miss film about the invisible lives that exist in one's home. With the aid of unique microscopes and filming equipment especially designed to photograph what can be seen when looking into a microscope, this "unseen" world is brought to life.
The story is that of an 11-year-old girl, Elly, (Charlotte Sullivan) who, along with her parents, is house-sitting at her grandfather's old home situated on the bank of a beautiful serene lake. The trees and foliage are lush. As Elly walks along the path to the house, we want to reach out and touch her and say "Hello." It is so utterly real as if she were a neighbor.
Elly's parents are played by C David Johnson (the father) and by Gosia Dobrowolska (the mother.) Grandfather, although never seen but whose voice is that of James Garner (Rockford Files, Americanization of Emily, Murphy'S Romance, Victor-Victoria and many more), has a sense of humor. For Elly's amusement he has left a series of notes (clues) which she is to follow and find the things he wants her to see. Needless to add, Elly carefully follows the clues and is brought to see a world she did not know existed, the minuscule world around us which can only be seen through a microscope. Elly finds this enchanting . . . and so will you.
As stories go, this may be a little too deep for children under ten but with a little explanation by their parents of what they have seen, the children should benefit form this fine 3D film. Older children and adults will be fascinated with the stop-photography of mold growing on fruit (over a period of 20 days), salt crystals, the life in water, etc.
IMAX has been around since 1970; in 3D since 1985, and utilized color in 1986. Find out where the nearest 3D IMAX theater is and take your kids to see a most enlightening and innovative film.
Screenwriters: Paul Cox, Barbara Kerr, John Larkin and Margo Wiburd.
Directed by Paul Cox.
3.5 Bytes
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Ben Hoffman
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