A spoiler-free review of ‘The Little Prince’

While everyone is currently going gaga over Star Wars, I will do everyone a favor by not writing about the science fiction film series and revealing plot details. A fan I am not. And it’s not because Yoda or Skywalker failed to amuse me. It’s because I don’t remember seeing one of the films at all.

So let’s talk about the movie adaptation of the French classic The Little Prince instead. Perhaps the only book I’ve read countless times since high school and through adulthood, this work of Exupery is close to my heart. I was in my early teens when I first borrowed a copy from the library and I swore to myself that I will never forget to be a child because I thought that’s what the le petit prince was trying to tell the grown-ups. Ironic for a kid, I know.

Anyway, the film was not loyal to the manuscript, and it was evident on the first few minutes of the movie. A good tactic, I must say, because viewers would let go of their expectations, forget about the book, and absorb what Mark Osborne was about to allow movie-goers to experience. Absorb his work we did.

I was amused with the graphics, especially with the 3D stop motion. They looked like they were lifted directly from Antoine’s sketches. The sound track perfectly set the mood. You would want to buy the album for Sunday-morning listening or for when you want calm music in the background. I’d say the movie was as interesting as the little prince’s journey to Earth, but I think certain moving dialogues in the book were overly used. “Thanks for rubbing it in, pareng Mark,” you’d probably say. As a result, the once essential parts of book just lost their, um, essence.

The entertainment took a nosedive when one of the protagonists–the girl–seemed to have lost her mind. “A crude airplane cannot travel that far,” my brain said. “That can’t happen in the real world.” A few minutes later, the film redeemed itself and sent its timeless, important message to the audience before “Fin” appeared.

Initially, I thought only the grown-ups would appreciate the film. But it looked like only kids would appreciate the unwelcome (at least by me) adventure the girl took. I was a little disappointed. And perhaps, the little prince is just as disappointed in me because I have forgotten to be a child and have focused on “matters of consequence.”

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Music, my mother, and me

“Wag mong ilipat!” my mother exclaimed with glee while I was radio station surfing one night in 1997. We were having some chit chat after dinner then, with the FM radio as our background music.

“That was sung by [I forgot the artist]. That was [I forgot the exact year as well]. I was in college,” she said nostalgically. “But that was one of my least favorite songs back then.”

Her last statement puzzled me. How could she enjoy listening to music that she once never liked? We both had no issues with 90’s music. In fact, like me, she listened to Spice Girls, and even noted that Victoria was her favorite Spice Girl.

So I wondered: Why would she want the radio tuned in to some old song that she didn’t fancy when she was young over some rockin’ 90’s song that we’d both like?

Curious and confused, I asked her, “Ma, why do you like listening to old songs?”

She chuckled as if I asked a stupid question. I didn’t mind and just waited for her to enlighten me.

“It reminds you of your childhood,” she explained. “It brings back memories.”

“Pag tanda ko din kaya, ganun din ako?” the silly 13-year-old girl that I was asked.  My mother laughed at my thinking-out-loud moment.

Fast forward to 2011 and in one of those random days, Jars of Clay’s Unforgetful You  started playing in my iPod shuffle. The song reminded me of how carefree and how fun being young is.

If I had an MP3 player back in high school, I wouldn’t have that song in my favorites’ list. But today, as I listen to it, I relish every drum beat and every note. I remember our stereo system, where it used to play. I remember the CD . I remember the problems I faced as a teenager. Today, it dawns on me that they were miniscule compared with my late 20’s problems. And it dawns on me that there are certain things that you’d only understand as you get older–like how nostalgic it is to listen to songs of our childhood. 🙂