Storm Boy, based on the novel by Colin Thiele - 8.8 out of 10

Storm Boy, based on the novel by Colin Thiele

8.8 out of 10

The essence of Storm Boy is phenomenal.

However, even if at heart this is an extraordinary story, the telling seems somewhat less adroit than we could have expected, given that the Academy Award Winner and multiple nominee, the artist that has enchanted the public in The King’s Speech, Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, shine and so many more marvelous roles, Geoffrey Rush plays the main character.

The Storm Boy is Mike Kingley aka Geoffrey Rush, playing the hero when he is a grandfather, looking back at his life.

When we follow the events associated with the finding and the rescue of the pelicans, it is all splendid.

Alas, the part of the plot where Michael Kingley has to take part in a boardroom meeting, flies in a helicopter, wonders around a luxurious, spectacular mansion and talks to his granddaughter seems superfluous or worse.

The teenager may be a promising actress, a teenager yet we may presume, but her presence appeared artificial and forced.

As a matter of fat, the whole material that does not refer to the pelicans and the Storm Story could have been easily eliminated.

As a boy, the hero hears hunters shooting and on the beach near the isolated house where he lives with his father, Hideaway Tom aka the solid Jai Courtney, he finds three pelican chicks.

Mike is played at this age by the talented Finn Little and he rescues the poor little ones who would have died, with their parents killed by the ruthless men – who would show up later in the narrative.

It is a daunting task and he is helped by the Aborigine Fingerbone Bill, a fantastic personage who explains that this is going to be an uphill battle, but offers his support to the boy, now and later.

A comic scene takes place when Fingerbone Bill tries to make the needed concoction, a fish mixture, made of fine enough granulation for the few days old chicks to ingurgitate, just as their parents would have done for them.

As the adult aborigine inserts fish in a mixing machine – which we could assume was destined for another task or anyway, both boy and adult could not operate it properly – the composition blows all over the place.

Hideaway tom is not happy to see that there are small birds to take care of and at that stage; he does not know who Fingerbone bill is and what he is doing with his son, suspicious that it was his idea.

Nevertheless, the parent proves to be an empathetic, resilient, kind, generous man and he helps his boy, who is devoted in the extreme to the small animals that depend on him and his dedication for survival.

Both father and son would eventually develop such an incredible bond, attachment to one of the birds in particular, Mr. Percival, that they train him to perform otherworldly tasks and finally save a human life.

To tread carefully here, little or nothing would be revealed from the vital, divine acts that take place in the story, except perhaps the tricks that Percival could play when they were in the middle of games.

One game was to find Mike, who was hiding under a blanket and the bird, without the superior smell that dogs have, would walk around confused, unable to guess where his best friend is.

Amazingly, when the father would amuse himself and the audience by indicating where the boy is, the exceptionally intelligent pelican would follow the clue and discover his savior and he is able to do other wondrous acts.

Let us just say that in terrible, death threatening circumstances, the loyalty, intelligence, endurance, stamina of this glorious friend is tested to the limit and he would be able to show his “gratitude” – if we could call it that.

People of the nearby village appreciate and enjoy the presence of the hero with Percival, while the hunters are determined to eliminate him and many other winged creatures in the process.

A difficult, heart breaking moment – one of quite a few, mind you – takes place when Hideaway Tom states that the birds need to be set free, for they live for forty or more years and they cannot take care of them for so long.

Familiar as we are with the National Geographic, BBC and other channels’ documentaries, we expect that the release of the birds might be all for their good, even if there may be other perspectives on that.

The core of Storm Boy is mesmerizing, even if there is a side to it that looks futile and even looks like a disservice to the essence of movie.