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This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Another great film about childhood, this one from Colombia and despite, or maybe because of, the seriousness of the subject matter, one totally devoid of sentimentality. It was director Carlos Cesar Arbelaez's first film and it showed great promise, (his handling of the children alone is impeccable), but since then he has only made one other film which is a great pity. Of course, this is also a highly political film as you might expect and Arbelaez seamlessly ties together both themes. In the central role of Manuel, Hernan MauricioOcampo is quite superb and the film is beautifully photographed by Oscar Jiminez. Needless to say it wasn't widely distributed on its initial release but it cries out to be discovered.

Touching anti-war film about a nine year old boy in a small rural village in Colombia. The boy, Manuel, just wants to play with his friends, all of whom manage to stay fairly oblivious the the civil war slowly encroaching on their town. The rebels threaten those who won't join up (including Manuel's father), and the government troops on the other side are ready to kill any they even suspect of being rebels. It's truly a hellish no-win situation for the farmers and families of this otherwise pretty idyllic farm area.The film is told mostly from the boy's perspective, leading to some interesting contrasts between what we as an adult audience can glean about what's really going on, while enjoying the sweet innocence of Manuel and his friends' perceptions, as they try to hang onto their childhoods. While I respected the film, and even admired it, it's so understated, that it had a bit less emotional kick than I was expecting on first viewing. But it got stronger and more emotional on a second watch, once I was used it it's quiet tone. There were still a few moments that felt a bit forced, and not all the kid actors are great, but neither flaw was enough to get in the way of being left moved and thoughtful.

The world of Manuel, a young boy living in a remote part of Colombia comes to an end because of the conflict around him. The boy's innocence is challenged when his most precious possession, a soccer ball is lost in the field next to the improvised area Manuel and his friends use to play is deemed not safe to go because it is dotted with land mines the guerrillas fighting against the army forces has planted there.Manuel has a good friend, Julian, with whom he spends most of his time. The one room school they attend, are taught by a young woman, a teacher that has come to guide them in such close quarters. One thing Manuel excels in, he loves drawing the vivid colors he sees all around him. The boy lives with his parents in the small farm where they eke out a living in the middle of the invasion from the army, the paramilitary and the guerrillas. Soon the strife comes to upset Manuel's life.Julian and Manuel engage their albino friend, Poca Luz, to rescue the ball by tying a rope from a tree. They must be careful because of the possibility of the boy landing on a mine. Earlier, the boys saw how a pig is blown to pieces when trying to escape and going into one of the mined area, near to where the ball has landed. In their effort, Poca Luz, who must wear glasses loses them as he becomes loose from the rope.Ultimately, tragedy strikes Julian. His father is taken away and viciously killed. Eventually, the same fate takes Manuel's father as the army gets to his house and made prisoner. Manuel finally decides on a way to get his ball back, but it is too late, he must abandon the farm and everything he loved for an unknown place with his mother and sibling. A fine film by Carlos Cesar Arbelaez, who is making his debut as director with this feature. It is a poetic work that evokes other films in which pit innocence with the evils of work and what it does to children. One can compare it, in a way, to Rene Clement's "Forbidden Games", just to mention one. This is a story without pretensions, told in simple terms. The poetry of the landscape is in sharp contrast with the ugliness of a war that affects the boys directly.The two young boys, Hernan Mauricio Ocampo as Manuel and Nolberto Sanchez, playing Manuel and Julian respectively, appear to be non professionals. Hernan Mauricio Ocampo makes a fine impression for the sweetness he projects against the backdrop of hopelessness around him. The photography by Oscar Jimenez shows a beautiful and luscious countryside of Colombia.

This is an excellent Colombian movie, this film is a great Master piece. Here you can see the cruel reality for some farmers in this country when they try to live between the guerrilla and the paramilitary. It's so sad but it's a reality for thousands of farmers. The role of this kids is excellent, they are a natural actors and you can see that real friendship between them.In my personal opinion this is the best film from this country in the last years because this film is a little mirror in the life of "desplazados por la violencia". And this topic is very important in. These days here in my country, it's a picture of our contemporany reality.