Admittedly "The Space Children" is a movie which people either love or hate. On the IMDB user comments section, there are 15 comments -- four of which are negative, nine are positive, and two are sort-of in between.
Over the past 20 years I've shown this movie to my own children, many of their friends, and even a class of 5th graders. All of them enjoyed it thoroughly, and some of them said they really liked it a lot.
Consider this: the kids in "The Space Children" which some viewers have called "brats" put up with a lot of bossing around from the adult characters -- but the only harm which comes to any of the adults is the nasty fate dealt out to an acoholic, abusive stepfather.
I've always admired the way Arnold styled the film to present the kids as knowledge, wise, and patient (which is the way the adults are supposed to act). The adults, however, are forced by the bizarre circumstances of the plot to act fearful and impatient (the way kids act in strange situations).
Arnold uses this incredible role reversal to present the film's message -- a message based on a verse from the Bible (Matthew 18:3, "Least ye be like little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.").
I've always felt that viewers of "The Space Children" could appreciate this message without giving a rat's rumpus about either the Bible or anybody's religious beliefs. The point of this movie has nothing to do with heaven or Christianity. It's about the sad fact that each and every one of us looses something very special when we make the transition from children to adults.
Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, that's why we sit around watching reruns of old movies we loved when we were young -- even though these movies look rediculous to adults who don't have the same fondness for them that we do.
That's why message boards like this exist. We're all trying to turn the clock back a few years. Unfortunately, Tom Wolf was right.
You can't go back home.
Over the past 20 years I've shown this movie to my own children, many of their friends, and even a class of 5th graders. All of them enjoyed it thoroughly, and some of them said they really liked it a lot.
Consider this: the kids in "The Space Children" which some viewers have called "brats" put up with a lot of bossing around from the adult characters -- but the only harm which comes to any of the adults is the nasty fate dealt out to an acoholic, abusive stepfather.
I've always admired the way Arnold styled the film to present the kids as knowledge, wise, and patient (which is the way the adults are supposed to act). The adults, however, are forced by the bizarre circumstances of the plot to act fearful and impatient (the way kids act in strange situations).
Arnold uses this incredible role reversal to present the film's message -- a message based on a verse from the Bible (Matthew 18:3, "Least ye be like little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.").
I've always felt that viewers of "The Space Children" could appreciate this message without giving a rat's rumpus about either the Bible or anybody's religious beliefs. The point of this movie has nothing to do with heaven or Christianity. It's about the sad fact that each and every one of us looses something very special when we make the transition from children to adults.
Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, that's why we sit around watching reruns of old movies we loved when we were young -- even though these movies look rediculous to adults who don't have the same fondness for them that we do.
That's why message boards like this exist. We're all trying to turn the clock back a few years. Unfortunately, Tom Wolf was right.
You can't go back home.
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Is there no man on this earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
Is there no man on this earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
