CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The_late_Buddy_Ryan "Sleeping Giant" is a low-key Canadian film that builds to an explosive climax; even if sensitive coming of age stories tend to give you the indie fidgets, I'd still recommend this one. It does start out slowly, with improv'd ensemble scenes (quite convincing), standard montages of teenagers doing carefree teenage stuff and gorgeous shots of the Lake Superior shoreline. The POV character, Adam, is too shy and passive to generate much storyline on his own—how many kids like that grow up make indie films?, I wonder—though the shaky family dynamic is laid out very nicely: A scene where Adam's well intentioned but clumsy dad urges him to start something with his childhood friend, Taylor—now a lovely young woman who's caught the eye of one of Adam's bad-boy cousins—signals clearly that Dad may be up to something himself… These and a few more wispy, unresolved subplots don't build up much momentum till the final scenes, beginning with a teenage tantrum that busts up a family Monopoly game… (I know, pretty Canadian, eh?) Great performances by the teenage principals, esp. first-time actor Nick Serino as another bad-boy cousin, Nate, the tantrum thrower. Not essential, but still quite watchable and available on streaming Netflix—otherwise how would we ever get to see it?

Red_Identity I didn't expect much from this film. It didn't look bad, but I just thought maybe it'd end up being a forgettable independent coming-of-age film. Luckily, I found it to be a lot better than that. I thought the acting was a bit inconsistent overall (the lead male being the best actor of the boys), but the sensitive, nuanced direction and screenplay helped the film become something actually special. It's a film that is willing to contemplate ideas that do weigh a lot, but I bet a lot of people the same age as these characters might actually relate. I don't think it's a great, original film, but definitely well-executed for the most part.

cecilbdedenis I watched this film to the end even though it was as excruciating as reading Hemingway."It's Canadian; it's art," I repeatedly told myself. No, it's simply a badly made film. A boring narrative of three unremarkable teenage boys, two of whom need major orthodontic overhauls, bored out of their trees during summer vacation.The scenes are as disjointed as the knee I keep throwing out and the film's closing credits appear from out of nowhere.Don't waste your time. Bad acting, amateurish photography, terrible script.

vegicat This movies isn't so much a "coming of age" story as it is a glimpse into the cause and effect of various character's actions and emotions.The movie is filmed beautifully. Something about the way it was filmed almost felt voyeur-like. It's a slow telling -- people looking for action, adventure or intense drama aren't going to enjoy it. For the most part, the teens convey a believable apathy, and the angst that is presumably just under the surface stays there under a veil of boredom and is just alluded to by the cinematography.The teen characters are solid. They perfectly embody the flippant and nonchalant attitude of that age group. Their conversations and interactions were natural, and thankfully, none of them were precocious, precious or inherently bad. All in all, it was a very languid telling of minor actions and their major consequences.