I've written of this gem of a film before, but I wanted to reiterate what a wonderful evocation of loneliness it is, especially in how it deals with childhood.
The lead character of the film is a latchkey kid in an industrial wasteland. He has to deal with bullies and gangsters, and to do so he makes an invisible world that only he can enter. His hero becomes Minya, the son of Godzilla.
In the film, Minya can talk, as well as blow smoke rings and change his size at will. Only The Curse Of The Cat People puts one into the loneliness of youth as well.
Here we see the film's opening, and it's a raucous opening, intended to appeal to young boys:
Here is the trailer:
Note the old man in the film, and the creepy suggestions of a more than grandfatherly intent toward the baseball capped boy. This is one of those films that, whether intentionally or not, gave far more out to the masses than could rightfully be expected. And the film's end, while sunny (or seemingly so) is quite realistic, for, despite making pals with the bullies that harass him, and foiling the gangsters, the lead character, Ichiro, ends up with a life that is still an urban industrial hell.
Such is life in film when done so unfortunately well.
