Lasse Hallstrom's (1999) film is based on John Irving's semi-autobiographical novel.
Set in Maine, USA during World War II, it tells the story of a most unusual orphanage and the truly remarkable people who run it.
Joining pragmatic and single-minded obstetrician Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), ably assisted by Nurse Edna (Jane Alexander) and Nurse Angela (Kathy Baker) all in ward uniform it soon becomes obvious that this is no ordinary orphanage.
As we follow Dr Larch into the maternity unit we first meet his young apprentice Homer Wells (Tobey McGuire) and quickly learn that not everything is as we might expect in this department either.
But as our understanding of what counts for 'normal procedure' widens we soon come to feel a genuine sense of involvement in the lives of the children who live there and the unconventional adults who care for them.
Dr Larch, as well as a great humanitarian and fan of Charles Dickens, is a drug addict and although Homer is well ahead of his years in female anatomy and physiology, he is overdue for a visit to the outside world.
An opportunity comes in the person of Flight Lieutenant Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd) and his prematurely pregnant fiancé Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron). Like impromptu parents arriving to take under their wing the eldest orphan in the establishment, Homer takes his chance to explore the world beyond the railway station - much to the distress of his surrogate father, Wilbur.
Initially lost in the foreign environment of the fruit farm run by Wally's mother Olive (Kate Nelligan), Homer soon finds himself well looked after by Arthur Rose (Delroy Lindo) who is the gang boss of the illiterate, migrant fruit-pickers. Accompanied by his unpromisingly named daughter Rose Rose (Erykah Badhu), the small group in the bunk house provide a rich learning environment for the perceptive, but naive Homer.
Homer's adventures are many and as the story twists and turns, he finds love and best of all he finds himself through his experience of the wider community he now inhabits.
There is so much more in this film that space permits to even hint at. It is comic, tragic, touching and moving. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Set in Maine, USA during World War II, it tells the story of a most unusual orphanage and the truly remarkable people who run it.
Joining pragmatic and single-minded obstetrician Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), ably assisted by Nurse Edna (Jane Alexander) and Nurse Angela (Kathy Baker) all in ward uniform it soon becomes obvious that this is no ordinary orphanage.
As we follow Dr Larch into the maternity unit we first meet his young apprentice Homer Wells (Tobey McGuire) and quickly learn that not everything is as we might expect in this department either.
But as our understanding of what counts for 'normal procedure' widens we soon come to feel a genuine sense of involvement in the lives of the children who live there and the unconventional adults who care for them.
Dr Larch, as well as a great humanitarian and fan of Charles Dickens, is a drug addict and although Homer is well ahead of his years in female anatomy and physiology, he is overdue for a visit to the outside world.
An opportunity comes in the person of Flight Lieutenant Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd) and his prematurely pregnant fiancé Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron). Like impromptu parents arriving to take under their wing the eldest orphan in the establishment, Homer takes his chance to explore the world beyond the railway station - much to the distress of his surrogate father, Wilbur.
Initially lost in the foreign environment of the fruit farm run by Wally's mother Olive (Kate Nelligan), Homer soon finds himself well looked after by Arthur Rose (Delroy Lindo) who is the gang boss of the illiterate, migrant fruit-pickers. Accompanied by his unpromisingly named daughter Rose Rose (Erykah Badhu), the small group in the bunk house provide a rich learning environment for the perceptive, but naive Homer.
Homer's adventures are many and as the story twists and turns, he finds love and best of all he finds himself through his experience of the wider community he now inhabits.
There is so much more in this film that space permits to even hint at. It is comic, tragic, touching and moving. I can't recommend it highly enough.