Humanity out of the Hard Times

This film mainly describes the lives of the poor in the Great Depression when President Hover was still in office. Hundreds of thousands of citizens lived in suffering then. Basically, there are not too many climax or a whole consistent story in the film. It is more like the livelihood stories of a twelve-year-old boy Aaron Kurlander. He and his family was supposed to live in the St. Louis however they could not afford the living expense anymore. Aaron's mother was severely ill while his papa couldn't find a job. So his mother had to go to asylum for cure while his father has to send Aaron's younger brother to another relative's place and leave his little boy behind and went to another city for his new job. So Aaron has to find all ways to get food and continue his studies at school. Aaron is lucky to get a neighbour Lester (cast by Adrien Brody) who acts like his elder brother and took quite good care of him during the days. I was surprised when Aaron's papa just left him in the hotel and said to him,”I know you are a smart boy and you will be fine”. I didn't mean that his father is cruel, after all, he has to left them so that he could make a living in another city and pick them back when he makes a fortune. However, it is just the way that his father put the words. Aaron is a smart boy and straight A student, in the end, he was surprisingly (of himself but not audience) won the Best Student of all. Consisting of small fragments and clips in lives of Aaron, audiences would actually get a glimpse of people's lives in the Great Depression. With juxtaposing contrasts, the rich and the poor, the depressed and the pressed, the men, the women, the students, the teacher, all mingled in the scenes of Aaron's life. No matter how hard life is, what I can see in Aaron's is his unsinkable spirit and bright heart, searching for the light in the middle of darkness.

In Rotten Tomatoes, it is said to be one of Steven Soderbergh's best and most criminally overlooked films.