Walking on the Moon (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews (4)

Should be compulsory viewing in all schools

[cosmic_quest · 9/10 · 23 May 2006]

'Walking on the Moon' is a very gut-wrenching film that every schoolchild should be made to watch the moment they reach their latter years of primary school as there has never been a drama that grinds in the message of how soul-destroying bullying can be.

The film's main character is thirteen-year-old Daniel, an intelligent and well-adjusted child who enjoys school, has a passion for space exploration and knows how to stand up for his own rights. However, his life comes crashing down around him when he makes the 'mistake' of coming to the aid of a friend being picked on, bringing him to the attention of the bullies. From that day on, he is left to endure systematic and brutal bullying at the hands of these fellow classmates while teachers and his parents turn a blind-eye to his misery. All his pains culminate until one fateful day when Daniel takes matters into his own hands...

'Walking on the Moon' drags into the light that schools are not always safe-havens for children and that it is up to adults to protect the vulnerable. Daniel didn't receive such support and, in many ways, the adults around him are left seeming almost as bad as those who harassed him. This film also portrays the reality that children are not necessarily adorable little darlings incapable of hurting a fly as there are some youngsters who are capable of violence that could put a grown adult to shame. There is nothing more harrowing than seeing a happy, loyal young boy being reduced to a wretched, anguished mess thanks to the vindictiveness of other children who he dared to stand up to.

It is not acceptable to take this view that bullies are wee innocents just out to indulge in youthful 'pranks' while their victims need to buck up and stop complaining. Bullying is bullying; that is a fact and we should all take a no tolerance approach to it, no matter what the age of the aggressor. Victims of cruel, unrelenting bullying are getting younger and younger as are those who are responsible for the abuse (just a couple of years ago, in the UK, a child of only ten committed suicide due to bullying). 'Walking on the Moon' shows that by refusing to take childhood bullying seriously, we are failing millions of real Daniels who desperately need to be defended and those who torment them brought to justice. We are also letting down the bullies themselves by not nipping their aggression in the bud while they are still young enough to be set right.

There is no happy ending for Daniel but through increasing awareness of the issues raised in 'Walking on the Moon', perhaps there can be a resolution for the children who face this abuse every single day in real life. There is a Channel Four short film, which nicely compliments this about what happens when a mother discovers her son had been driven to suicide due to bullying and she is left bitterly enraged with the bullies and the teachers at their school, if anyone can remember the title.

Walks from the moon, into your heart

[minirachel · 14 November 2004]

I saw this in 1999, but its impression is still with me years later. As a teenager at the time, also being bullied, it spoke to me more than anything had done before and since. It was shockingly real and portrayed a situation that unfortunately was present in schools all over the country. Its an issue that needed to be told in a way that made you sit up and take notice and it certainly pulled that off. It's moving and sensitive in a hard hitting way. Although sad it helps you see your not alone and even in its most sombre tone, i found hope. Its one of those rare drama's that really make sit and think for hours after.

An insightful portrait of a real problem

[andell · 10/10 · 25 May 2005]

I watched this film, unfortunately relegated to being broadcast solely on the Women's TV network in Canada, as part of a forum on the impact of bullies on people, and how it has effected them up to their present lives. I watched it all with an open mind, in the back of my head remembering a girl from my neighbourhood growing up who was THE talked about, laughed about vision of what a loser was.

Well, after watching this film, my thoughts about her have never left me. That is the power of this film.

Young Daniel doesn't succumb to one episode of taunting, or rough housing, or cruelty, but rather to a pattern of cruelty AND taunting AND being roughed up until his school life becomes a living hell for him. I think we all would agree that children should not have to deal with violence, and that the pattern of behaviour is unacceptable- however because of the evolution of our "discipline" in schools, or perhaps because in our ignorant bliss we assume that "boys will be boys," we do not take into account that one very healthy avenue of development for SOME children is being closed.

Poor Daniel, too weary of the abuse to return to school, then must deal with parental discipline, which the lingering thought in the back of his mind that there is no where to turn, no one to confide in, and no one who can help him. The few friends that he has are not able to provide him with the support he needs, and he can't find it at school; when he abandons school altogether, his parents then come down on him until he feels there is no where to turn.

Anyone who has ever felt that kids are all good, or that school yard rough housing and the pecking order of the playground are all about growing up ought to be tied to a chair and forced to watch this film over and over again. While it may not be factual, I think that the spirit of it does provide a stark reminder of what is put at risk when the violence of children against other children is merely regarded as a rite of passage. The "bully" angle of the Columbine shooting has since been disproved, however the truth of the matter is this: young Daniel's decision to take his own life could just as easily have been to snuff out the lives of his tormentors.

There is no innocent rough housing in the playground, nor is there a just 'pecking order.' There is only a learning and recreational environment that must be protected for all children, not just those who can impose their will on the others.

What a film

[otaylor · 10/10 · 8 May 2006]

Walking on the moon is the story of a boy who moves to a new area because of his parents and as is said above is fixated on space hence the title; I was shown the film during one of my personal social education class, it really got to me an amazing piece of work amalgamating many true stories into one truly terrifying story that touches the heart and makes you question the inner evil of man, and how even part of the story could be true (spoiler) driving him to attempted suicide and into a mental hospital.

The film got me so much as it was made properly on a descent budget not some Government initiative with a half baked idea and budget that can not use any actions or language above ouch and a tap on the shoulder, and not going anywhere near the psychological thriller walking on the moon is...