Gregg Champion

NCLA Review: Sidney Poitier stars as Mr. Henry Cobb, an elderly man who makes bricks the old fashioned way. Henry is grieving over the loss of his wife and is told that his brick making methods are obsolete. He doesn’t see any reason for his life. Then he encounters Danny, a 13 year old boy who has been kicked out of school for vandalism. His bickering parents are in the process of a divorce and don’t have time for their son. With his parents consent, Danny moves in with Henry where Danny learns how to make bricks. As we watch and learn with Danny the process for creating bricks, we see both Danny and Henry rekindling their passion and purpose for living. This quiet old man has a thing or two to teach Danny’s parents also. The plot is predictable and has a happy ending, with the parents reconciling their differences, though there are several tense moments during the kiln firing scene. This is a movie for the entire family to watch and then talk about afterward. “Does our family have problems like this one? Have you ever felt like running away?” Originally broadcast in 2001 as a made-for-TV movie, this Dove Family Edition is rated PG for mild language. Rating: 4 —BJM… (altro)