Martian Child (2007)

A science-fiction writer, recently widowed, considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.

Director:

Menno Meyjes

Writers:

Seth Bass (screenplay), Jonathan Tolins (screenplay),

Stars:

John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, Amanda Peet

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	David
Bobby Coleman	...	Dennis
Amanda Peet	...	Harlee
Sophie Okonedo	...	Sophie
Joan Cusack	...	Liz
Oliver Platt	...	Jeff
Bud	...	Somewhere / Flomar
Richard Schiff	...	Lefkowitz
Taya Calicetto	...	Esther
David Kaye	...	Andy
Braxton Bonneville	...	Nicholas
Samuel Charles	...	Jonas
Zak Ludwig	...	Young David
Samuel Patrick Chu	...	Boy at Group Home
Ryan Morrissette	...	Boy at Group Home

Storyline

What's the nature of being a parent and of being a child? David is a widower grieving for two years. He writes science fiction and was considered weird as a boy. He meets Dennis, a foster child who claims to be on a mission from Mars, stays in a large box all day, fears sunlight, and wears a belt of flashlight batteries so he won't float away. David takes the six-year-old home on a trial. His sister and his wife's best friend offer support, but the guys are basically alone to figure this out. Dennis takes things, is expelled, and is coached by David in being normal. Will the court approve the adoption, and will Dennis stay? Can a man become a father and a child become a son?

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Plot Keywords:

boy | adoption | flashlight | best friend | writer | 

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Taglines:

It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you find where you belong!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements and mild language

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [us] Warner Bros. [de]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un niño de otro mundo

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,843,767 (USA) (2 November 2007)

Gross:

$7,486,906 (USA) (7 December 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Hannah Rachel Production Services, MERADIN Zweite Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Gerrold, the author the book, adopted a son as an openly-gay man. In his novella, the sexuality of the protagonist is not disclosed, but in his novel, he is identified as gay. In the Hollywood movie version, the protagonist is straight (with a female love interest), causing some criticism from some members of the gay community nationwide.

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Goofs

When David and his sister are looking at the projector Dennis created in his room it is clearly has a single light projecting each of four pictures through a magnifying glass as they rotate past the light, but when they look up we see all four photos projected and rotating on the ceiling.

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Quotes

Liz: David, you're hysterical.
David: I know. See, everybody says, "Don't be hysterical." But I say, "Why not be hysterical?" Hysterical is the new calm. My wife dies, boom! I go out and I adopt a kid from Neptune. Should I just chill, or should I be hysterical? You tell me. I think hysteria is a way of life. It's a clothing line at least.

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Connections

References Damien: Omen II (1978)

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Soundtracks

"Satellite"
Written by Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, Joe Pisapia (as Joseph Pisapia) and Brian Rosenworcel
Performed by Guster
Courtesy of Reprise Records
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

This film is adorable.

I work in a cinema so I'm in the perfect job not to miss any film releases including minor ones like this film. I call this film a "minor" release because it was not advertised much, just a trailer here and there but it's the type of film that make me happy to work at a cinema otherwise i would have miss out on this little treasure of a film. The story is simple , a lonely widower, also a sci-fi best selling author , adopt a child who lives in a world of his own were he convinced himself that he's a Martian who was sent to earth to study the human race. The child's rather strange, he hates the sun and doesn't smile often. At first the writer he's not sure if he's up to the task to bring up a child with such big issues but little by little he realized that he was the perfect match for the boy. In a world were we have countless film about fart jokes and people getting tortured to death , I found "Martian Child" to be a breath of fresh air. It's a sweet film without being corny. The acting is great all around.John Cusack his wonderful as always but its the young Bobby Coleman who plays Dennis the young boy who's the real star of this film he is great but also likable and god knows how this sort of character could have turned out in the wrong child actor's hands. Joan Cusack bring much of the comic moments in this film and it's nice to see her with her real life brother , I love that woman , she always add something to any film she's in. The most interesting aspect of this film is seeing the character of Dennis progression throughout the film , from a troubled boy to a happy kid , it was really well done. Somme people might found this film "overly sentimental" but I believe it's because we live in a cynical world and a film like Martian child stand out more in a time when we are not used to see a film that doesn't show violence or gross out humor. The main purpose of the film is to introduced us to two character , make us love them and see them grow together and it does a more then decent job at that. I would recommend this film to anyone who has enough of a open mind to accept a film that just wants to grab hold of our heart for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I think this film is a nice little gem and I don't care about all the critics that found it just too sentimental.For the full duration of the film I was interested by the characters and at the end I was happy for them and thats all I ask for a film , that the character are involving.