Not suitable under 15 due to disturbing themes and violence
This topic contains:
Children under 15 | Not suitable due to disturbing themes and violence |
Children 15 and over | OK for this age group |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Mr Pip |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and violence |
Length: | 115 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Mr Pip is a drama set in Bougainville, where a civil war has most of the community living in fear. Although the school has been closed down for some time, Mr Tom Watts (Hugh Laurie) – the only white man left on the island – decides to reopen it and run classes himself, despite having no background in teaching. He begins to read Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations to the children, and a young girl named Matilda (Xzannjah) finds particular solace in the famous narrative. She begins to fantasise about living in 19th century Britain as she falls in love with Dickens’ character Pip.
However, after she innocently scribes ‘Pip’ into the sand on the beach, the soldiers oppressing the village arrive and demand to know where the apparent rebel leader Pip is being hidden. Mr Watts and Matilda try to convince them that he is merely a fictional character in a Charles Dickens novel but the soldiers refuse to believe them and there are dire consequences for Matilda, her mother and Mr Watts.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Personal sacrifice; rape in war;death of family members; life under military occupation; the power of reading
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Children in this age group will be scared by the violent scenes described above
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
Children in this age group will also be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Children in this age group are also very likely to be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Younger children in this age group are likely to be disturbed by some of the scenes described above
None of concern
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some sexual activity in this movie, including:
None of concern
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
The touching story of Mr Pip highlights the strength of the human spirit. Against very challenging odds Matilda remains steadfast in her belief that life will improve in the future. She doesn’t want to feel ashamed of her birth place, but longs for a place that feels more like a safe haven or a stable home. Matilda’s mother Dolores believes that stories must teach you something, and Matilda’s reading of Charles Dickens ultimately teaches her about choices, freedom and independence, as well as the importance of controlling your own fate.
The film raises some important issues to discuss with older teenagers, but the film’s violence and disturbing themes makes it unsuitable for younger teens and children.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with older children include:
Parents may also wish to discuss other issues such as:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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