A sumptuously photographed slice of life drama about a man and his ten year old son coming to terms with a change in their circumstances. The scenery is both stunning and stark in turns. The writing is spot on; it is astutely observed and achingly accurate. And above all, the acting is first rate. It is so natural that you forget that they are actors. Beauty and heartache abound here, and you will love Jojo, and, at times, hate his father Ronald. And you will wonder why Jojo tries so hard to reach his father. And you will wonder where the mother is in all of this. But throughout, your perceptions will be constantly contradicted. And yet the ending is perfect.

I loved it because it touches on human emotions. In my opinion, the reason it is a good movie is because the bird he loves dies. If it had lived it would have turned the movie into a gushy-goo drama that would not have been liked by most people. Another reason is that it is a story that commonly happens between single parents and children.It made me sad that the father doesn't understand what the boy is going through, and the boy does not understand that his father wants to forget about his dead wife. My heart goes out to all those who are going through or went through a similar situation.It is a must watch movie for most ages and i hope that this review helped.Thank you.

The movie starts out the same way it ends. Whatever you do, see it with subtitles. If it does come out dubbed, I wonder if something may be lost.Jojo is a little boy, maybe 8 or 10, he's struggling with his mom not being around. he talks to her on the telephone telling her things about his life and the Jackdaw chick he's rescued from the nest. He initially tries to return the chick but the mother refuses and tries to attack him and the chick falls back out. He takes the chick home.Throughout the movie when you suspect that the tone is going to get deep and heavy and maudlin, it lilts back to life thanks to an incredibly moving soundtrack and Jojo's spirit with the connection to the Jackdaw chick. There's so much more going on in this movie than meets the surface. It's one of those that should be watched more than once. To see such a spectacular performance from the main character is simply amazing.No spoilers, just, if you're lucky enough to see this movie, enjoy it. It's worth the effort to find.

The first feature for the director is a character study involving a young boy (approximately 10 years old) and his father. The film opens with the young boy, Jojo, washing up and then being challenged by his father to a race that is a repeated pattern between them. After the race with his father Jojo discovers a jackdaw chick fallen from its nest in a tree. He climbs the tree intending to place the chick back in its nest but the chick falls from his grasp onto the ground, but survives a second fall. Admiring the chick's toughness Jojo takes him home to rear him.So begins a tale of the love and attachment between Jojo and the chick, named Jack. Interrupting their poignant and often funny relationship is Jojo's father who is presented as loving but prone to aggression. He does not agree with keeping the chick and twice releases the bird warning Jojo to not bring him home again. But as Jojo tells his father he and Jack are attached to one another and so they keep finding one another in spite of the father's warnings.During the film we see Jojo apparently talking to his mother on the 'phone. Although she never appears in the film as a character she is manifested through songs and photos that show she was a singer with Jojo's father. Her absence is revealed towards the end when we learn that she is dead and that Jojo will not admit this and allow himself to grieve her; and neither will his father. The film becomes increasingly piquant as Jojo and his father's grief are revealed and these feelings collide with the unfortunate accident that kills Jack.What sustains the film, rescuing it from being so distressing as to be devastating or sentimental, is the realistic relationship between father and son that is compelling and in which there is much love. The choreography and dialogue between the male actor playing the father and the child playing Jojo is spot-on. The director said that he was interested in the dynamics of father-son relationships and the film succeeds in portraying one such relationship.Jojo's relationship with Jack is symbolic of his attachment to his dead mother who he will not let go though his father urges and demands him to do so. Jojo keeps her flame alive in her music and his memories. The bird's death when it happens is shocking and an audible gasp was heard from the audience in the cinema; I gasped too. We never learn how Jojo's mother died but one can assume that the suddenness and impact of Jack's death reflects Jojo's experience of his mother's.A great first feature from the director displaying an adroitness in handling complex feelings and relationships. The bleak subject matter is elevated by the character of Jojo who is a vivid and vibrant character in which much hope is invested and the film closes on another flame lit in his life just as the ones for his mother and Jack are extinguished.(NB There were children in the audience when I saw the film and there was tears and shock from both children and adults. The film presents and does not shirk from the difficulties in a child's life and as such can be educative, in the best sense, for children providing their parents/guardians can bear the feelings and questions it evokes.)