A LITTLE PRINCESS 1995
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
3 :-) :-) :-) for sugar and spice
Cast: Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Vanessa Lee Chester, Errol Sitahal Director: Alfonso Cuaron Screenplay: Richard LaGravanese and Elizabeth Chandler based on the novel SARA CREWE by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Strip away the pink petty coats, frills and white lace and you're left with a pair of shiny silk stockings. Like these stockings, this movie shines a star or two above the mundane nylon/cotton crap giving the general public an outbreak of jock itch, and other fungal infections. "A Little Princess" is like a gem hidden beneath layers of sugar and spice, and everything nice. Just don't choke on the rock when you guzzle down the desert.
I was enchanted by the sweet experience of growing up in a fairy tale world, where the niceties of living include having an adorable father who adores you even more. This is the story of a child who goes from riches to rags, with a life and death experience thrown in somewhere between. Despite being maltreated and traumatised, this orphan keeps her dignity and compassion throughout the ordeal. She holds firm to her belief that every child is "A Little Princess" - meaning that all children are special, despite their circumstance. This message holds true with every child, but can the same be said in ten years time when they grow into bratty, selfish teenagers? Or in thirty years time when they develop power hungry tendencies? By sixty they should all have some form of coronary heart disease.
I was impressed by the brazen colours, the bold images and insightful themes. The most potent point in the movie is when the orphan girl confronts her tormentor, the spinster head mistress, with a powerful statement - "Didn't your father ever tell you that you were a princess?" The Mistress's face grows cold, her eyes narrow and she storms out of the room in a fit of rage - evidently not. All children are like royalty when they enter the world, but depending on how they live their life, the same cannot be said about them when they make a hasty exit.
This is an exceptional true to life story for children of all ages. Well recommended and much enjoyed.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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