A MUST SEE! largely due to the child starring in the movie, Catinca Untaru. The director purposely choose a non-actor, someone who had never been in a movie at all, someone who barely spoke English. And he intentionally cast her very young so that she hadn’t reached the age where she would be able to “act,” but instead is just reacting onscreen in every moment. Her performance is wondrous because it’s real.
You find yourself drawn to her and I doubt the movie wouldn't be as good without her.
The movie is about Roy Walker (Lee Pace), an early 20th century Hollywood stuntman, lands in the hospital after performing a dangerous stunt to impress his girlfriend. Distraught and suicidal after losing her, the bedridden Roy befriends a fellow patient, a young girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru). He enchants her with vivid, fantastical tales about five heroes — an Indian, an ex-slave named Ota Benga, an Italian explosives expert, a masked bandit, and Charles Darwin — who unite to fight a common enemy, Governor Odious. Although Roy has genuine affection for Alexandria, he also has an ulterior motive: by telling tales and gaining her trust, he tricks her into stealing morphine from the hospital pharmacy so he can commit suicide.
As the line between fact and fantasy blurs, real-life people begin to populate Roy's fictitious stories.
There are some fight scenes that may upset the younger viewers, also have some kleenex on hand because you will probably bawl your eyes out on some of the scenes.
Beautifully shot around the world, over two years:
Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Andaman Islands, South Pacific, Pacific Ocean
Argentina
Bali, Indonesia
Brazil
Cambodia
Cape Town, South Africa
(hospital scenes)
Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic
(Blue bandit jumps from bridge)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Chile
China
Egypt
Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Fiji
Himalayas, Nepal
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Italy
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
(blue city)
Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Maldives
Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Namibia
Paris, France
Prague, Czech Republic
Romania
South Africa
Turkey
