A beautiful documentary about a boy struggling with his mentally deranged grandmother. Many people have commented on the heart wrenching nature of this movie, and there is no doubt about that. At times I found it hard to watch and had to flip away, it was so painful to see such a dysfunctional relationship. At first you think that Robert is your typical video game addled, over sugared, under parented demon child and his grandmother is just doing her best to cope. Then you soon realise, after seeing the boy at school around normal people and given proper discipline and encouragement that he is a beautiful, intelligent little boy, and it is grandmother that is in fact screwed up.
This film hit home because I have a nephew who is in a very similar situation with my sister. She is not poor or uneducated (well fairly well educated) and my sister also has chosen medication to try and control his behavior. Like Robert, my nephew is very bright if a little hyperactive. I was close to tears as I saw the similarities.
There are some funny moments, like when the grandmother is talking about all of her guns and how she is going to use them to shoot a criminal and the boy (correctly points out) that with a gun on the wall, she is more likely to be shot by the intruder than be able to use it.
Anyway, at the end of this film I am not sure if the children are really in a good place, but at least they are aware of their messed up grandmother, who obviously lacks love in her life and has a disturbing dependant relationship with them. Just the fact they sleep in the same bed with her until they are 7 is creepy. They are left with their real mother, who serves them a steady diet of coca cola and who knows what else. She may not be Mary Poppins, but at least she doesn't smother them. I think that she is probably more capable than people think, but is obviously a little messed up.
Good job and I hope the bee-hive haired teacher lady at the end is smiling now, I felt so sad for her as she struggled to correct the seemingly insurmountable problems of poverty, neglect and poor life skills. There is hope.
This film hit home because I have a nephew who is in a very similar situation with my sister. She is not poor or uneducated (well fairly well educated) and my sister also has chosen medication to try and control his behavior. Like Robert, my nephew is very bright if a little hyperactive. I was close to tears as I saw the similarities.
There are some funny moments, like when the grandmother is talking about all of her guns and how she is going to use them to shoot a criminal and the boy (correctly points out) that with a gun on the wall, she is more likely to be shot by the intruder than be able to use it.
Anyway, at the end of this film I am not sure if the children are really in a good place, but at least they are aware of their messed up grandmother, who obviously lacks love in her life and has a disturbing dependant relationship with them. Just the fact they sleep in the same bed with her until they are 7 is creepy. They are left with their real mother, who serves them a steady diet of coca cola and who knows what else. She may not be Mary Poppins, but at least she doesn't smother them. I think that she is probably more capable than people think, but is obviously a little messed up.
Good job and I hope the bee-hive haired teacher lady at the end is smiling now, I felt so sad for her as she struggled to correct the seemingly insurmountable problems of poverty, neglect and poor life skills. There is hope.