Paper Planes

2015 "If at first you don't succeed, fly, fly again!"
6.2| 1h36m| en
Details

Dylan discovers he has a talent for making paper planes. He has a chance to compete in a world championship, but he'll have to face bullies and self-doubt to do so.

Director

Producted By

The Australian Children's Television Foundation

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Reviews

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
tinant It was lovely to encounter this movie. For once it was a nice light film without the intensity even a lot of family films are these days. While it was light it was just poignant enough to make it interesting. I liked the anti-bullying message in it as well. Sam Worthington was excellent as a father struggling with depression after the death of his wife. Young Oxenbould did a good job as well. The scenes in Japan were idyllic and the whole film had a kind of magical feel. This is a good film to watch with the family or if you are in the mood for a pleasant non -jarring film. I enjoyed the real yet slightly surreal atmosphere of the movie as well. It was realist and yet with a touch of magic realism as well. Overall a good Aussie family film!
Murray Hamilton This is a sweet, simple little film, but with some interesting and thoughtful themes to get your kids thinking a little more about things they see sometimes, but may not really understand.The biggest of those themes is loss, and the reviewers who don't 'get' Sam Worthingtons character have completely missed this. You don't just 'get over' the loss of your wife five months after her sudden death, everyone has their own way of coming back, and Worthington's character hasn't found that way back when we meet him in the film. He's still lost. And it's his son's understanding of his dads grief that underpins the entire film. It's subtle, but it's the whole driving force of this story. The actual competition that seems to drive the film is actually secondary... but ultimately becomes the catalyst to get the father through his grief and back to 'life'.My 8yo son picked up on this about halfway through the film, when the father refused to sell the piano - he said 'I know why he can't sell it'. The storyline didn't flesh it out until later, when Dylan told Kimi that his mum had been a piano teacher - and this is another thing the film does; it reveals its layers slowly, and for the most part lets its audience figure things out for themselves.The messages and lessons for the target audience start almost from the beginning of the film - it will get kids thinking about sportsmanship, peer pressure, role models, friendship, and loss... and it does so with a good dose of laughter and a sublime sense of the ridiculous - always a winner with kids.Worthington's character didn't really hit his stride until mid film, which was a shame - it left the door open for the less cerebral members of the audience to assume he was just a deadbeat dad, and when those types make that assumption, they'll drop dead before they'll admit to themselves that they were wrong. Not Worthington's fault; the script should have introduced the bereavement earlier than it did.I also think the connection between Dylan's father and grandfather should have been explored a little more. Ultimately we end up knowing nothing about his father other than that he's shattered by the loss of his wife - that's a given, so why didn't we get a little more about the man himself? I slept on my lounge plenty of times myself in the months following my separation from my wife, but if I were a movie character I'd want my audience to know a bit more about me than that fact.Tip - have a decent supply of A4 paper on hand for the morning after watching this movie with your kids :)
ninaholmes738 I found this film to be enjoyable but again lacked polish as a lot of Australian Films tend to do. There is nothing Hollywood about this film. It skips through its plot just fine but it is a bit folksy and heavy handed. It has some nice themes which are quite uplifting. The film is a bit nothingness. Sam Worthington's performance lacks depth as usual and I find it interesting that he didn't even bother to turn up to his own Premiere of the film. Overall an "Ok" film with a nice story but have kind of seen it all before. Perhaps this would have been better released on DVD. With a theatrical release I kind of expected something more.
Amna Bakhtiar Paper Planes is a great movie for all ages really. I as an adult really liked it. The cast is quite great and the children in the movie are completely not obnoxious. The lead of the movie (Ed Oxenbould, who happened to be at the movie's premier at TIFF along with other cast members) was terrific. The story moves at a very good pace so you don't zone out. The story itself is not very complex which is a bonus point. Western Australia is captured nicely here, you really get a feel for what life there is like. This movie could have been a major tearjerker but I'm glad there are strong elements of humour and lightheartedness. It feels 'real' despite being a movie about incredible paper planes! I definitely recommend this movie.