Bridge to Terabithia

B+

After the mostly lame affair of Transformers, the surprising depth and intelligence of Bridge to Terabithia remedies my growing disappointment with summer fares (Yes, I know that Bridge was released in late spring in the US. Blame the Australian censors.) The one thing that really impressed me with director Gabor Csupo's interpretation of Katherine Paterson's novel is how it managed to be its own while staying to the spirit of its source material. I knew the main plot points in the story, but by making us be "in the moment", I was still caught by surprise.

Jess Aaron (Josh Hutcherson) is an outsider. He has no friends. His older sisters thinks he's weird, and his father (Robert Patrick) disapproves that he spends his time "in the clouds" doing what he loves - drawing. Then there's a new kid in school, his neighbour Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb). She's an outsider too, but more of a free spirit than Jess. Together, they discovered a world across the river with warrior grass hoppers, evil squirels, and giant trolls. And Jess has to struggle to keep the Terabithia alive, against the growing pressures of the "real world".

What I love most about Bridge to Terabithia is how it trancend above its obvious cliche-ic elements (giving bullies the benefit of the doubt, maturing as an older brother), with fresh themes (the power of imagination). The latter might also have been tackled in previous movies, but not in this manner. The movie flirts with our doubts and scepticisms in the beginnning, but at the end, everyone would be sold to the existence of Terabithia, just as Leslie and Jess were.

Everything about this film is heartfelt. From handling the generic high school bullies, to the deep, platonic relationship between Jess and Leslie. It's quite an experience watching Bridge to Terabithia. I just wish that there could be more movies like this around - for which I'd trade a thousand Transformers and Spidermen.
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