A Little Princess (1995)

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I remembered this -- Alfonso CuarĂ³n's first big Hollywood movie -- being better, but then again at that point I hadn't read the book. Sara (Liesel Matthews) is left at an orphanage while her father is overseas, only to have circumstances much diminished when he (and his fortune) is reported lost. CuarĂ³n has always been a superb visual storyteller and the film is at its best when Sara retells stories from the Ramayana in supersaturated colour.

There's a frustratingly little nuance here, though, just a bright line between good and evil. Matthews is OK, but it's hard to play a precocious brat without being infuriating and she doesn't pull it off.

- Sam - 2020-05-05 12:37:01