Watch Kisses For Free

Perfect cast and a good story

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

On Christmas Day two kids run away. Trust me, they had good reason. "Kisses" takes us on the next 24 hours of their lives as they wander through Dublin looking for a guy named Barry who will supposedly take care of them. At the same time they are running from the imaginary "sackman" who, the girl insists, takes young children and animals, throws them in a sack and beats them to death for fun. The story of these 2 runaways is charming, terrifying, bleak, beautiful, and just about everything else in between.There is an instantly recognizable poetic quality to this film. That means: things are not necessarily spelled out, but instead we are made to piece together a backstory based on images, events and clues. Like the story of the 2 kids following the trail of this mysterious Barry fellow, we learn piece-by-piece exactly what's going on.There is a subtle yet strong structure to this film. It is told in chapters with each chapter ending with a kiss (hence the name "Kisses"). Each kiss is symbolic and meaningful. Another interesting thing to note is the way the film changes between black & white and color, almost imperceptibly, yet in a very symbolic & meaningful way.If you haven't guessed, this film has a lot more going than what's on the surface. Add to the mix a very appropriate soundtrack of Bob Dylan songs (in particular, great use of "Shelter from the Storm"), and you've got yourself an artistic treat.The dialogue is mostly between the 2 young figures, and I was surprised at how authentically child-like it was while figuring in some absolute pearls of wisdom. One of my favorite lines is what the girl says to the boy as they're wandering off into the night: "You were right. There is no Devil. Just people."The 2 young actors Kelly O'Neill ("Kylie") & Shane Curry ("Dylan") are, of course, what bring this film to life with a magical quality as only 2 genuine kids can display. It came as no surprise to me when I found out that these 2 were not actors. They were chosen from a bunch of kids that had been found at malls, schools and other such places. The result is a powerful film with a lot of honesty... not a pretentious art-house romp but an artistic film with real humanity.If you enjoy meaningful "slice of life" movies as seen through the eyes of kids, then definitely check this one out. Also be on the lookout for "48 Angels" about a young boy who wanders off in search of Jesus, "Io non ho paura" ("I'm not afraid") about a boy who finds a deep hole where another boy is being held prisoner, the Wim Wenders classic "Alice in the Cities", and my favorite "Kikujiro" about a boy in search of his mother... accompanied by the grumpiest, foullest scoundrel in all of Japan.

The acting of the kids was really good. They were portrayed realistic, which made out most of the charm. Yet, in the end, the movie got a little unrealistic turn into somewhat like an action movie, which was definitely unnecessary (except they ran out of ideas). It seemed to me, as if the director wanted to show that he can shoot also action-scenes. All in all the ideas were a little few, which were also not completely new. The supporting characters did not have much originality. Especially the ending was little bit too conventional and foreseeable. Portray of two kids was great, yet the story lacked of originality and ideas. Since the movie is just 78min long, it's worth watching.

Set in Ireland, Kisses chronicles two lower middle-class children, next-door neighbors Kylie and Dylan, who run away to the big city (Dublin) after they can no longer tolerate their abusive home situations. The inciting incident that propels Dylan to actually leave home (joined by Kylie) is when he hits his father in an attempt to stop him from beating up his mother during a drunken argument. Later we find out that Kylie has been sexually abused at the hands of her Uncle, so she too has no qualms about running away.Writer/Director Lance Daly does a fantastic job in coaching the two first-time child actors, Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry. Their language is very coarse and you'll have a hard time understanding what they're saying, without reading the English subtitles that appear on screen (yes, the actors are speaking English, but with a very heavy Irish accent). In fact, Daly brilliantly evokes an atmosphere of a violent middle-class world the children must exist in, utilizing dialogue which is peppered with all kinds of offbeat expletives and fascinating slang.The time the children spend at home is shot in black and white, which is designed to signify the repressive atmosphere they live in. But once the children flee to Dublin, the scenes are now in color, connoting freedom from repression. Daly does well in providing us a snapshot of how bad some of these abusive family situations can be in Ireland today but by the same token, I wonder if he went too far in damning these abusive parental figures. What would have been better if he showed us that these parents were capable of moments of humanity, which would have fleshed their characters out a bit more. Some parental concern and guilt feelings were on display when we hear snatches of the parents being interviewed on radio, after the children are declared missing; but it would have been better, had Daly made the parents a tad bit more sympathetic, and hence multidimensional, from the get-go.The 'second act' of the film is a mixed bag. Daly spends a little too much time with the children interacting with a kindly barge operator on a canal as he brings them into the city proper. Once in the city, however, there are all kinds of nice touches: the children avoid some kindly child welfare workers who they fear will simply return them to their parents; Dylan receives a kiss on the cheek from a prostitute that appears heartfelt; and they realistically fail to find Dylan's older brother, who ran away to the big city two years before.Bob Dylan also figures prominently in this film. The barge operator first introduces the children to Dylan by singing a Dylan song and playing the harmonica. Later, a folk artist is singing a Dylan song at a mall where the children assist him in begging for money. Finally, the children run into a man at a stage door during a concert, who appears to be Dylan himself. It turns out that he's only a Dylan imitator, part of an Australian tribute band. We hear Dylan's 'Shelter from the Storm' as part of the film's soundtrack which is apropos, since the children are seeking 'shelter' in the big city, far from the 'storm' of their respective abusive domestic situations.The second act crisis occurs when Kylie is kidnapped by pedophiles, who snatch her off the street and drive off in a car. I had a hard time believing that Dylan would be able to hold on to the back of the car as they bad guys sped off at top speed. The children's' eventual escape also seems far-fetched but when they finally fall asleep and wake up with the dead body next to them, that was something that could possibly happen.The ending features the nice touch of seeing the parents relieved but then turning vindictive, as the children are returned to them. Dylan and Kylie exchange trusting glances as they are separated from one another and are brusquely brought back into their respective homes.Not all of the Kisses' plot is completely plausible nor are the characters (other than the principals), fully realized. Nonetheless, the performances of these child actors are so sharp, that one will find oneself ignoring some of the film's aforementioned intrinsic shortcomings.

Either the two teenagers who play the central roles are the greatest teen actors in the world OR the director can handle teenagers better than any director in the history of cinema. You should see this movie just for the superb job these two young people perform. The movie by itself is excellent, the photography, the use of the music of Bob Dylan, the dialog (thank you for the on screen translations cause at times it sounded like a foreign film from somewhere in Eastern Europe). This movie really is a gem as starts out in monotone and then when the kids reach Dublin the color is fantastic. I guess I just can't say enough nice things about this flick, check it out, you gotta love it.