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35 Comments


@Funky

Yeah… whatever, dude. Maybe instead I’m a guy with a daughter.

Vic

Margie says:

This young girl’s acting is phenomenal! I think living where they lived in the South, it was very hot, hence the running around or swimming in her underwear. The interaction of the characters is what made this movie, I agree some would find it boring, but to watch them portray the people in the film was incredible to me. I loved the way the black guy helped her recover! This movie said a lot!

John "Kahless" Taylor says:

I just checked rottentomatoes; it’s at 17%, so looks like the critics agree with Vic. I won’t take my boys to see Land of the Lost for the same reason I wouldn’t let them see this mess.

val says:

This movie was the worst I have ever seen. It was repetitive and long and depressing. I don’t think I will ever be able to listen to the song hound dog ever again. The plot went no where, it was a story of a horrible situation, yes perhaps this is representitive of real life for some and that is sad. However, how could any one enjoy this movie? I like watching movies for enjoyment not to depress myself. If I wanted to do that I could just watch the local news. I wasted an hour and a half of my life, and I will never get back. So, I feel the need to warn others to avoid wasting their time too. Don’t bother watching this movie!

Jessie says:

After finishing this film, I must say that I was blown away by Fanning’s performance and irritated by the overwhelming amount negative criticism surrounding Kampmeier’s Hounddog.

Like Funky_F, I too was lulled into complacency which made the rape scene all the more shocking and powerful. This was largely achieved by what many people are referring to the “slow” pace of the movie. The rape scene itself was brief, moving, and as tasteful as any depiction of such a heinous act can be. The unhurried tempo of the film also serves to impress upon the audience that

The instances of near nudity were incorporated for two main reasons. The first of these being that it was largely indicative of children’s behavior during the time period. My grandparents grew up in the poor rural of South Carolina during the 1930’s and 40’s and agree that this was the norm for 9 year olds during the humid summer seasons of this era. Kampmeier’s other reason for “peppering the film with scenes of [Fanning]in her underwear” was to demonstrate Lewellen’s innocence by highlighting the fact that she is utterly unaware of her body in a sensual nature. Though she is privy to some of the sexuality between her father and Ellen (really, how could you not remember Ellen’s name when the main character is named for the combination of this woman who turns out to be her aunt and the father’s names?), she perceives herself in the naivety of childhood and therefore thinks nothing of swimming in her undergarments with her friend or singing in front of the young man delivering milk while lying in her bed.

The opening scene demonstrates the basic curiosity of children about their differences which does not at all indicate the beginning of puberty. Remember, while Dakota Fanning may have been 12 when the movie was shot, she played a 9 year old which would have made it highly unlikely that Lewellen was beginning to experience the mental and physical changes brought on by the movement into adolescence. This curiosity and consciousness of the basic biological differences between boys and girls does not indicate the sexual awareness and intent needed for a person to act “seductively”. The fact that the milkman saw himself as being seduced, shown by his request for Lewellen to “Do the one you did that mornin’,” serves to point out the warped and sick of his mind in that he found it possible to a 9 year old as a temptress.

My biggest grievance lies in the almost cliché role of “mystic black man” taken on by the character Charles. I agree that at times he seemed “too wise” and theatrical which was at odds with the gritty reality most of the other characters were portrayed in.

All around I thought this was a very good movie that sought to bring awareness to child abuse while also providing a sense of hope through Lewellen’s triumph over the seemingly overwhelming circumstances of her young life. Those who herald this movie as an example of child actors being exploited should first, actually watch the movie, second, examine the delicate way the questionable scene was handled, and lastly, perhaps seek to help those truly exploited, the victims of abuse that are found in the heart of the Hounddog’s message.

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