Keeping the faith

Unafraid of the impossible

There's a moment in Little Boy where Pepper a.k.a Little Boy (Jacob Salvati) is asked to come on stage during a magic show by a magician who theatrically bestows upon him "the power," at which point he asks Pepper to use his newfound power to move a bottle on a table. At first, Pepper is hesitant by the heckles and jeering from the other kids in the audience but the magician tells him to "ignore the world," have faith and believe that he can do it. Pepper achieves moving the bottle, surprising everyone but mostly himself; believing that with his new power and faith, he can bring his father (Michael Rapaport) back who was shipped out during WWII. Of all the moments in Little Boy, this one stood out the most. It more or 

less summarizes the importance of faith and the vulnerability of it during critical times when we are tested. Pepper wants nothing more than to see his father come back in one piece but at the same time realizes that simply having faith in his safe return isn't enough; even less so when you harbor thoughts of hate and bigotry. Although Little Boy is a faith-based film, it doesn't ignore the point of view seen from a non-believer's perspective; tackling the hard questions such as what would be of our faith if our prayers went unanswered. Fortunately, the film stays grounded in its' themes and handles sensitive topics such as racism and war maturely. Regardless of whatever your denomination may be, the lessons of the true strength of faith and the courage to forgive can be understood by universally anyone thanks to the great writing and story telling. If I had to point out a problem about Little Boy, it would have to be that many may think that because it is a faith-based film, it will be too religious or that the tone of the film will feel arbitrary and unrealistic, not compromising it's source material so it can appeal to a larger audience. Let's be real: Little Boy shouldn't have to compromise anything to get it's point across; the film is unafraid in telling it's story on its' own terms. By following its' own rules, not only does it achieve becoming a terrific film, it proves once more that a film's story will always hold more importance than the opinion of others. In summation, Little Boy is a genuine film with heartfelt characters and lessons, and gets my highest recommendation.

-Reviewed by Razor, 9/19/15