Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
DVD Description
I Am David chronicles a young boy’s struggle to freedom from a post-WWII labour camp, across Europe to Copenhagen, Demark with nothing but a compass to guide the way, an unopened letter and a little food to eat.
With the help of his only friend, fellow prisoner and mentor Johannes (Jim Caviezel), David learns there is more to life than the camp he has grown up in. When he is helped to escape the horrors of the camp, he embarks on an incredible journey of self-discovery and awakening, and experiences a world where joy also exists not just cruelty and suffering.
Based on the internationally acclaimed young adult novel by Anne Holm, I am David celebrates the unconquerable human spirit and captures the thrill of a child tasting the wonders and excitement of life for the first time.
‘The thirst for freedom drives a resourceful boy to escape captivity and cross Europe in this unusually intelligent adventure film’ Robert Koehler--Variety
With the help of his only friend, fellow prisoner and mentor Johannes (Jim Caviezel), David learns there is more to life than the camp he has grown up in. When he is helped to escape the horrors of the camp, he embarks on an incredible journey of self-discovery and awakening, and experiences a world where joy also exists not just cruelty and suffering.
Based on the internationally acclaimed young adult novel by Anne Holm, I am David celebrates the unconquerable human spirit and captures the thrill of a child tasting the wonders and excitement of life for the first time.
‘The thirst for freedom drives a resourceful boy to escape captivity and cross Europe in this unusually intelligent adventure film’ Robert Koehler--Variety
Special Features
- Trailer
- Deleted Scenes
- Finding David Featurette
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"I Am David" is a low-budget but finely crafted story of an 11 year old boy who has spent most of his short life in a Bulgarian Gulag during the horrors of the Stalin era. He escapes, with the help of his mentor Johannes, and the head officer of the forced labor camp, and is told to "Trust no one." Writer/director Paul Feig based his film on the bestseller "North to Freedom" by Anne Holm, and the script is intelligent and has sensitivity and depth. David makes his way through Greece and Italy, and into Switzerland, with the constant fear that he will be returned to the labor camp.
The cast is excellent, with Ben Tibber as the stoic and courageous David, and Joan Plowright, who adds to her lifetime of flawless performances here with the portrayal of Sophie, an artist who teaches David to trust in life and humanity. In the small but pivotal part of Johannes, Jim Caviezel is marvelous. This was filmed before he played Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," and some other actors in "The Passion" are also in "I Am David," notably Hristo Shopov (who was Pontius Pilate) as the head officer, and Francesco De Vito (Peter) as Roberto the sailor/truck driver. Director Feig has a cameo as an American whose car runs out of gas, in one of the more humorous scenes in the film.
The DVD features are good, and include interviews with producers and actors on how the film was planned and made, deleted scenes, and interesting commentary by Feig, where he shows us just how stringent his budget was, and how he had to cut corners. Despite the financial limitations, this is an inspiring film, as well as an entertaining one. "I Am David" makes wonderful family viewing, and will give younger audiences a glimpse into the Gulags behind the Iron Curtain of the early 1950s, and how the human spirit can conquer adversity.
The cast is excellent, with Ben Tibber as the stoic and courageous David, and Joan Plowright, who adds to her lifetime of flawless performances here with the portrayal of Sophie, an artist who teaches David to trust in life and humanity. In the small but pivotal part of Johannes, Jim Caviezel is marvelous. This was filmed before he played Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," and some other actors in "The Passion" are also in "I Am David," notably Hristo Shopov (who was Pontius Pilate) as the head officer, and Francesco De Vito (Peter) as Roberto the sailor/truck driver. Director Feig has a cameo as an American whose car runs out of gas, in one of the more humorous scenes in the film.
The DVD features are good, and include interviews with producers and actors on how the film was planned and made, deleted scenes, and interesting commentary by Feig, where he shows us just how stringent his budget was, and how he had to cut corners. Despite the financial limitations, this is an inspiring film, as well as an entertaining one. "I Am David" makes wonderful family viewing, and will give younger audiences a glimpse into the Gulags behind the Iron Curtain of the early 1950s, and how the human spirit can conquer adversity.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a film version of the book of the same name (or `North To Freedom' in the States) by Anna Holm first published in 1963. As a child I read the book and could not remember all of it so was pleasantly surprised by this independent effort from director Paul Feig. David (Ben Tibber) is a 12 year old prisoner in a Bulgarian Gulag and the year is 1952. He can only ever remember life in the camp, but has fleeting memories of someone he knows loved him, but he can not seem to articulate why. The past is revealed in flash backs throughout the film and adds layers to the story
In the camp he has a friend Johannes -Jim Caviezel - who has very little on screen time actually. Life in the camp is unremitting and awful, so David is helped to escape. He has a sealed letter and is told to search for a bundle outside the fence. In it he finds some bread, water, a compass and a penknife. He is told to get to Salonika and then keep heading north until he gets to Denmark. There is one part when the truck he is hiding in gets stopped by the State Police and the other free riders are chucked off - the police says `You want to escape this paradise?' I am pretty sure that he is being sarcastic.
Any way David has to live by his wits and meets many people along the way, realising that sometimes you can trust and other times you most certainly can not. Ben Tibber does a great performance as David, who has to learn a lot of normal things even how to smile. In the book he has learnt a lot of languages from being in the camp, this he uses to blend in with the people he comes across, it is done all in English in the film with a nod that they are speaking another tongue - which may annoy some people, but it avoids sub titles. Along the way he discovers religion and a lot more besides.
This is a well made and acted independent film that was made with a lot of love. You can see that in the extras that includes interviews with cast and crew. I was totally absorbed and got a bit dewy eyed at a couple of points, but it is both endearing and heart warming - I might even re read the book now.
In the camp he has a friend Johannes -Jim Caviezel - who has very little on screen time actually. Life in the camp is unremitting and awful, so David is helped to escape. He has a sealed letter and is told to search for a bundle outside the fence. In it he finds some bread, water, a compass and a penknife. He is told to get to Salonika and then keep heading north until he gets to Denmark. There is one part when the truck he is hiding in gets stopped by the State Police and the other free riders are chucked off - the police says `You want to escape this paradise?' I am pretty sure that he is being sarcastic.
Any way David has to live by his wits and meets many people along the way, realising that sometimes you can trust and other times you most certainly can not. Ben Tibber does a great performance as David, who has to learn a lot of normal things even how to smile. In the book he has learnt a lot of languages from being in the camp, this he uses to blend in with the people he comes across, it is done all in English in the film with a nod that they are speaking another tongue - which may annoy some people, but it avoids sub titles. Along the way he discovers religion and a lot more besides.
This is a well made and acted independent film that was made with a lot of love. You can see that in the extras that includes interviews with cast and crew. I was totally absorbed and got a bit dewy eyed at a couple of points, but it is both endearing and heart warming - I might even re read the book now.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A wonderful film with a beautiful ending. Joan Plowright's performance and the character of Sophie, brilliantly portrayed, brings the film to a most endearing and very touching end. Sophie's love for David, [probably matured from her own very sad loss of her little son] gives him space to open up in that love, and as a result, to be able to fall into the arms of his too-long missed and dearly loved mum. I think David is adorable. It's not easy to act the part of a child traumatised by incarceration and abuse, but we see him in his struggles, in his determination not to be caught and returned, and responding to Sophie's love; a really good performance of David, and a great film. I recommend it.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Blandest Thing on the Menu.
I really need to write down this review quickly whilst it is still fresh in my mind, because unfortunately despite its earnestness it is actually a very forgettable film. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bob Salter
A lovely little film
The ending of this film is a real tear-jerker, and though elements of the script are not really credible, the general thrust is not unreasonable as in the aftermath of the WWII... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Gay Londoner
Bad casting
I bought this DVD after reading the book of 'I AM DAVID' and really enjoying it.
The story is of a child who has grown up in a concentration/work camp, learning the... Read more
The story is of a child who has grown up in a concentration/work camp, learning the... Read more
Published on 7 May 2010 by D. Seagrave
A film to watch with your grandchildren
A lovely warm-hearted film which I would recommend for grandparents and children over 8 to watch together as the children may have questions to ask. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2010 by Maria Edgeworth
Nice idea, but ...
I gather this is based on a true story, but large parts of it lack credibility. What the film also lacks is dramatic tension - instead, it is a succession of loosely linked scenes.
Published on 28 Nov 2009 by critic
I am David
It is the extraordinary family adventure which is recommendable for children.
Published on 26 Sep 2005 by "sskim0303"
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
