The Son Bests the Father

When I told a co-worker that I went to see Son of Rambow last week, he looked at me like I had two heads. He asked me why would I want to see a sequel to a Sylvester Stallone movie. I informed him that I didn’t see a sequel to one of Sly’s most enduring film franchises, I saw a film “inspired” (for lack of a better word) by Rambo that surpassed it in everything – humor, heart, and, yes, even violence.

Son of Rambow takes the familiar tale of sheltered-religious-boy who isn’t allowed to listen to music, play video games, or watch any tv (even those boring documentaries in science class) who meets the loud- bossy-secular-boy that changes his life forever to new heights. Instead of just having yet another tale about how the strictly religious should bend a little and how the strictly secular should acknowledge some of the good things that come from a religious background, it is also a film about the healing and connecting power of art.

Once Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) accidentally breaks his religious sect’s rules and watches a movie – Rambo: First Blood – his imagination explodes with creative possibilities. When Will learns of Lee Carter’s dream to win Screen Test, an amateur film contest run by the BBC, the two pool their creative resources. Will provides the story material from a dream – Will needs to rescue his father, Rambo, from an evil Scarecrow and flying dog – and Lee provides the camera. The film-within-a-film concept creates hilarious moments (the boys approximating martial arts movements) and perilous moments (when Will tries to perform a water stunt and almost drowns) while paralleling both boys’ complicated family lives.

Through all the ups and downs in the boys’ lives – Will’s mother is being wooed by a member of their strict religious group, Lee’s older brother makes him into a servant, French exchange students arrive en masse – it is the process of creating a film with the minimal resources (not sex, drugs, or rock’n roll) that brings about the boys’ newfound maturity. The portrayal of creating art as eye-opening, life-affirming, and friendship-building is a breathe of fresh air into the coming of age genre.

~ by LD on May 19, 2008.