Son of Rambow (2007)

During a long English summer in the early 1980s, two schoolboys from differing backgrounds set out to make a film inspired by First Blood (1982).

Director:

Garth Jennings

Writer:

Garth Jennings

Stars:

Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jessica Hynes

3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Neil Dudgeon	...	Joshua
Bill Milner	...	Will Proudfoot
Jessica Hynes	...	Mary Proudfoot (as Jessica Stevenson)
Anna Wing	...	Grandma
Will Poulter	...	Lee Carter
Tallulah Evans	...	Jess Proudfoot
Emilie Chesnais	...	French Teacher (as Emile Chesnais)
Paul Ritter	...	Geography Teacher
Finola McMahon	...	Gail Graham
Rachel Mureatroyd	...	Marie Plante
Taylor Richardson	...	David Smart
Peter Robinson	...	Lucas Dupont
Charlie Thrift	...	Duncan Miller
Jules Sitruk	...	Didier Revol
Sam Kubrick-Finney	...	Danny

Storyline

SON OF RAMBOW is the name of the home movie made by two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions. Set on a long English summer in the early '80s, SON OF RAMBOW is a comedy about friendship, faith and the tough business of growing up. We see the story through the eyes of Will, the eldest son of a fatherless Plymouth Brethren family. The Brethren regard themselves as God's 'chosen ones' and their strict moral code means that Will has never been allowed to mix with the other 'worldlies,' listen to music or watch TV, until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and maker of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood and from that moment Will's mind is blown wide open and he's easily convinced to be the stuntman in Lee Carters' diabolical home movie. Will's imaginative little brain is not only given chance to flourish in the world of film making, but is also very handy when it comes to...

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Plot Keywords:

friendship between boys | plymouth brethren | foreign exchange student | young love | absent mother | 

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Taglines:

Make Believe. Not War.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and reckless behavior

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK France Germany USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

23 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hijo de Rambow

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£897,089 (United Kingdom), 6 April 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$53,789, 4 May 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,784,769, 10 August 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer & Tongs,Celluloid Dreams,Good Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several instances of CG modification during post production are pointed out in the DVD commentary. At 1:17, 86:49, and 90:23 in the theater, both the SMOKING and NO SMOKING signs were added. At 43:48 where Lee Carter pinches the Guide Dogs for the Blind statue, "OPEN 5 DAYS A WEEK" was added on the store marque. At 57:29 the sign "Sixth Form Common Room" was added. At 58:00 the clock in the school clock tower showed the wrong time for the scene, so it was changed.

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Goofs

When Carter is waiting at a gate, the cow behind him has a yellow id tag in its left ear. ID tags for cows were introduced in the 1990s, after the BSE (Mad Cow) crisis.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Brethren Leader: Brother William, would you like to read today?
Will: [apprehensively carries Bible into middle of the street and reads] "O God, our Heavenly Father, who has commanded us to love one another as thy children."

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the closing credits Carter's voice-over says, "By the way, you spelled the title slightly wrong; there's no 'w' in Rambo". Will replies, "Oh, okay" and Carter then says, "It's still good though".

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Connections

References Yentl (1983)

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Soundtracks

Our Lips Are Sealed
Written by Terry Hall (as Hall) and Jane Wiedlin (as Wiedlin)
Performed by Fun Boy Three
Published by Plangent Visions Music, Inc.(ASCAP), Universal Music - BMG Songs (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records Lt.
Under License From EMI Music Marketing

User Reviews

A Fantastic Movie About the Wonders of Childhood

I recently took this movie in at the 2007 Sundance film festival and am quite glad that I made the effort to sneak this little gem in. The movie was made by the very talented Garth Jennings of the famed music video production team Hammer and Tongs known for their visionary music videos and previously Hitcherhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Set in an average English town in 1982 the movie revolves around the interesting life of a 12-13 year old boy named Will whose family is part of a strict religious group that prohibits him from having any friends outside the group and strictly forbids him from watchings any TV or Movies. Without these usual sources of childhood entertainment Will finds other ways to pass the time, namely in drawing out his flourishing imagination that he scribbles and doodles all over the pages of his bible. One day Will unexpectedly crosses paths with the school terror Carter who also happens to be an amateur bootlegger at the local movie theater. Will, whose never seen a movie before is caught off guard when at Carters home he sees Rambo playing on the TV, the visuals of the movie explode in Will's imaginative mind and from there on out Will is forever changed. An unlikely friendship begins between Will and Carter as they begin production on Carter's home movie masterpiece, Son of Rambow. The two children begin coming closer before their friendship is tested by a new-wave French exchange student Didier Revolve. As the friendship between Will and Carter begins getting twisted so does his relationship with his family, as the church group starts taking notice of Wills more worldly interests. In the end Will must stay true to himself and the film must go on.

The performances by all the children were exceptional, especially Carter who is the movie's sparkplug and provides comic relief frequently. As well as Didier the french exchange student who is a text book example of how absurd the whole new wave trends of the day were, his appearances are all wildly amusing. The movie also has a fair amount of quirky animations and dream sequences that offer visual pleasures for the eyes and bring childhood doodles to life. The movie is just a brilliant little idea and it plays out so very well in all the settings and the characters are extremely likable in all manners, the movie should play great for almost all ages