Boy and foal Child actors have always been an integral part of cinema, and family cinema is difficult to imagine without them. Despite their young age and little life experience, many children look even more natural on screen than adult professional actors. But films with a child in the lead role, intended for adult audiences, still not so much. One of these films is the family drama “So small, and already a man”.
The main character of the films is seven-year-old Robbie Browns, who after the death of his parents in a car accident lives with his grandfather and almost adult sister Mike. One day, Grandpa gives Robbie an unusual gift - a foal, to which a boy desperate for love and warmth quickly begins to feel a strong attachment. But Robbie’s happiness ends when his grandfather dies and Professor Schroeder’s new guardian decides to sell the foal. Maike is passionate about an affair with a young architect Thomas and can not help her brother. Then the boy decides to do everything possible not to be separated from a friend. At night, Robbie steals the foal from the stable and hides it in a nearby village with a local farmer. To pay for the maintenance of the animal, an independent boy tries to earn money in any way - sells newspapers, walks dogs, washes car windows.
The performer of the main children's role Oliver Grimm, the son of the director of the film Hans Grim, as a child, thanks to his pretty appearance and direct play was very popular in Germany, playing in several famous films along with the best performers of the time. But in adulthood, as is often the case with child actors, he failed to achieve notable success. As for the film itself, the German audience of the fifties, it probably seemed a very heartfelt and touching story. But since then, many films have been made about the friendship of children and animals, so now the picture looks too sweet and sentimental, using the usual clichés and predictable plot twists.
5 out of 10