“Yes, I believe that I can do this!” is the mantra of
this endearing film about the power of a childlike faith to move insurmountable
obstacles.
More fantasy than drama, Little
Boy reveals how hatred, prejudice, hard-heartedness, and the gloomiest of
outcomes can be overcome by a true, dogged belief. The film is wonderfully directed
by Alejandro Monteverde and executive produced by husband and wife team, Roma
Downy and Mark Burnett, who have brought a number of Christian stories to television
and the big screen, most notably the TV drama, AD the Bible.
Jakob Salvati stars as the adorable eight-year-old Pepper Busbee who is devastated that his
beloved father, James (Michael Rapaport), has been shipped off to fight the
Japanese during WWII, leaving his mother, Emma (Emily Watson), and 4F-ed
brother, London (David Henrie), at home to man the family business. Because he
has been taught to have faith for any and everything, Pepper firmly believes
that his father will return home alive, even after receiving news that he is
missing in action and presumably dead.
Pepper’s pint size has earned him the nickname “Little
Boy,” but what he lacks in stature is more than made up in his giant-sized
determination to believe his father
back from the war. Encouraged by a local magician, Ben-Eagle, and his eerie
magic act, Pepper concludes that he can extend his fingers into the sky, grunt
like a woman giving birth, and will his faith into any situation.
But as Pepper learns, the will of God does not operate
like a supernatural magic act. When his father fails to return home, Pepper
consults his local priest, Father Oliver (a great performance by Tom Robinson),
who gives him some good lessons on raw, Christian faith. While Father Oliver acknowledges
the Bible’s promise that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains,
he tempers this spiritual lesson with a requirement that Pepper work on his
hardened heart; before a miracle can be expected, Pepper must first display the
love of God by giving to others. In particular, Father Oliver charges him to show
kindness to a local Japanese man, Hashimoto (Cary-Hiroyuki
Tagawa), who is
the brunt of ruthless persecution from the embittered town folk. As the sting
of death is felt throughout the community, hatred for the Japanese has reached
a boiling point, resembling the evils from the lynch mobs that roamed the South
during segregation. Pepper has learned first hand from his brother how to loath
these foreign people for taking his daddy away. Anger, course language, and
murderous violence threaten to rip what is left of his family apart and poison
his very soul.
Reluctantly, Pepper obeys Father Oliver’s plan and performs
a rash of good deeds for Hishimoto, slowly befriending the old man. Even though
he is chastised by London and his friends and practically labeled a traitor,
Pepper cannot risk not doing everything he can to bring his father home. In retaliation,
the local bullies step up their harassment, but in an unexpected moment, Hishimoto comes to Pepper’s rescue,
proving that true friendship transcends race and ethnicity. In a Karate Kid/Mr. Miyagi moment, Hishimoto teaches Pepper how to see
himself as a powerful warrior despite his small size. Essentially, where
Pepper’s father has taught him unadulterated faith, Hashimoto
teaches Pepper
how to take that faith and wield it like a sword.
Pepper’s belief is put to the test when London
publically challenges him to literally move a lone, tall mountain that looms in
the California skyline. True to form, Pepper
extends his hands toward the mountain, grunts like a madman, and miraculously
the ground begins to tremble as an earthquake shakes the town. The public is
divided in their opinion as to whether Pepper’s faith was to blame, but he needs
no convincing; Pepper believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that his wiggling
fingers and guttural machinations rocked that mountain to its core. Even when
Hishimoto expresses his doubts, Pepper will not be swayed. Giving his faith one
last chance, he stretches his fingers toward Japan, gives a long, deep growl
and wills the war to end so that his father can come home.
While Pepper labors for hours, Father Oliver and
Hishimoto share a nice scene over a game of cards, expressing the opposite
views of faith that so many of us have heard: one (Father Oliver) admiring the
boy’s tenacity in spite of doubting the outcome, and the other (Hishimoto)
finding such blind faith dangerous and destructive.
****SPOILER ALERT ****
What happens next has left
many reviewers disgruntled with this film. Just as Pepper had prayed, the war
with Japan does end with the world’s introduction to the atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima, coincidentally named “Little Boy.” In no way do the filmmakers attempt
to insinuate that Pepper was praying for the destruction of thousands of
Japanese people, but the local townsfolk give him the credit all the same,
which is admittedly a little bothersome to the viewer.
At first Pepper is thrilled
that his father will be returning home, but then the reality of what has
actually transpired sinks in; this destructive force has unleashed Japan’s
wrath against American prisoners of war that will more than likely prevent any
of them from returning home alive. Pepper laments that his efforts have worked
against him by sealing his father’s fate.
After Hishimoto narrowly survives
a brutal attack from a local thug,
Pepper uses his faith to pray for his healing. Miraculously, his prayer is
answered, but then sadly, while Pepper holds vigil at Hishimoto’s bedside, Emma
receives the news that her husband has died in an air raid on a Japanese prison
camp. Pepper’s devastation at learning of his father’s death pierces the heart,
not because of the grief over losing a much loved parent, but because of the
grief over losing hope in one’s faith. His wailing and tears were more than I
could bear.
As expected, Pepper sinks
into a depression, spurning his faith as silly and useless, but ironically, it
has done a work on Hishimoto’s heart. In a very tender moment, Hishimoto
expresses his admiration for the boy’s vigilance, recognizing that his innocent
faith is what saved his life.
Pepper accepts his father’s
death and moves on with life, but then in a wonderful twist of fate, the
unimaginable happens! The family learns that through a mistaken identity, James
Busbee was severely wounded but is still very much alive. Even London cannot
help but acknowledge that Pepper’s faith has brought their father home to them.
A bittersweet yet touching conclusion to a very moving story!
I love how this film shows
how hope always prevails, even in the most dire of circumstances. Faith as
small as a mustard seed germinated in the soil of this little boy’s heart so
that at the right and appropriate season, a miracle happened; it didn’t occur
in Pepper’s timing or in the way he had planned, but it happened all the same. What
a great lesson to us all!
Truly, a wonderful film for the whole family.
Available now on Netflix.
