This week-end theatres welcomed a fantasy movie that will
charm both children and parents with the great adventures that it depicts.
“Nim’s Island,” as its
title highlights focuses on the story of a young girl living on a secluded
island. Nim, played by “Little Miss Sunshine” star, Abigail Breslin, lost her
mother at sea and is now raised by her father, Jack (Gerard Butler) who is a
biologist. Jack is not oblivious of his daughter’s education and becomes his
private teacher; it is also him who makes her love literature and Nim is a
great fan of the international bestsellers focusing on the adventures of
super-hero Alex Rover.
Apart from her only human companion on the island, Nim is
also friends with Selkie the Sea Lion, Fred the Bearded Dragon and Galileo the
Pelican.
But one day Jack leaves the island to search a strain of
plankton and a great storm damages both his boat and the satellite connection
that linked him and his daughter (yes, despite the desertedness of the island,
we will see satellite phones, emails and other hi-tech devices). Nim’s waiting
for her father to return, but in the meanwhile, she has to deal with other
unexpected problems, like a volcano eruption or the invasion of tourists.
The young girl tackles the problems with success; her
attempt to scare the tourists off the island recalls of the “Home Alone”
classic. But no matter how skillful she proves to be, Nim needs her father to
return and this is why she calls for Alex Rover’s help.
But the super-hero turns out to be only the alter-ego of an
agoraphobic writer, Alexandra Rover, who is afraid to even get out of her home.
Alex (played by, yet again, Butler)
encourages Alexandra to leave for the island and help Nim.
The leitmotif of the movie is becoming the hero of one’s own
story and “Nim’s Island” is the perfect
example that this message is appropriate for any age.
