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

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

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.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I wanted to read this book by Ruth Park for a long time and finally got around to listening to it, we watched the movie after listening to the book. The book was great and we really enjoyed it, but various changes from the book mean that the movie is a silly, sappy 1980's teen romance (it kept bringing Blue Lagoon to mind for me, which I admit I did enjoy when it came out but I was a lot younger then and I have never bothered to watch it since), and the acting wasn't good enough to bring it up to being a decent movie. I felt they completely missed the point by making it an '80s movie and it definitely makes the movie seem very dated now, I borrowed the movie and I am very glad I didn't buy it because watching it once was more than enough.

It's Australia, today. (Well, the mid 80's... when the film is set you numskull.) A strangely dressed, barefoot little girl watches some kids playing a game outside, but doesn't join in herself. This attracts the attention of a teen called Abigail, who, being the good sort she is, decides to see if she can help her. Alas, one touch of this young lady's hand sends the two spiraling back in time to the 19th century... and that's when all the inanity starts.Such a shame. Playing Beatie Bow has such a strong setup, and usually I LOVE time travel movies. But watching these costumed freaks chewing up the scenery with their awful dialogue, in what looks like a school play reproduction of the era is not compatible with my idea of fun. Not to mention the incoherent plot about mysticism. But the real kicker here is a love story between Abigail and a bland sideburned 'hunk'. This abrupt union is so arbitrary, so tacked-on that even Mills & Boon might hesitate is include it in one of their trashtastic seaside page-turners.It gets more tedious and ridiculous by the second... So by the time Abigail decides to save a little baby bird and a chest full of clothes by throwing them out of the window of a burning house rather than escaping herself, you should be past caring.The germ of a good idea was here, but as long as you choose to cut back on the budget for historical accuracy, and make the decision to populate your motion picture with a bunch of old hams rather than anyone with any vestige of intelligence, you're going to fail. Miserably. 3/10

Playing Beattie Bow was probably one of the only movies I enjoyed which I had to study in primary school!But it's a naturally brilliant movie anyway, not only dealing with a girl's attitude to growing up and surviving life, but it also has excellent screen caps of what life was like in the 19th Century Australia.Note: I can't believe that Beattie Bow is played by "Viv" from Home And Away!!!

Ruth Park's classic Australian book is here given a slightly insipid but enjoyable adaptation. Abigail (Imogen Annesley) is not quite as gutsy and stoic as in the novel, and a few accents are a little shaky, but visually the movie is very true to the book. The squalor of 19th Century Sydney's slum areas are vividly brought to life, using real-life locations that still exist today.Watch the movie - but give the book a look too.