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Robert Duvall is one of America's treasures. He should be given a Lifetime Achievement Award annually at the Academy Award ceremonies, and this film allows him to demonstrate, once again, how it's done. If you agree, by all means run, don't walk, to your nearest video store and rent "Rambling Rose", another of Duvall's gems...which, incidentally, also co-stars Lukas Haas, another underrated and terrific actor, as he shows in "Convicts". Most of Lukas' contribution is in the form of reaction to Duvall's ramblings, but the two of them, along with everyone else in the film, create a marvelous since of realism. Duvall is a mentally addled old drunk who can't remember that he said the same thing to you a few minutes ago, or what you told him, and it's to Duvall's credit that he manages to avoid being boring, as this sort of character so easily could have been. Duvall's character is also disreputable and mistreats the convict labor he has contracted for to work on his farm, but still you empathize with him. Lukas is, as always, wide-eyed (no one had larger eyes, or used them better) and innocent but not stupid. Horton Foote provided realistic dialog and a sure sense of place. This is a film not only to enjoy, but to study.

A lonely outcast boy, mistreated by his slutty mother and her boyfriends and missing his adored but often absent seaman father, gets into a series of scrapes with the law including a short prison term. Curiously for a film of this sort, one of Ciske's most sympathetic observers is the local police commissioner (he's one of those who calls Ciske "Rat") who knows him well and is aware of his home life--after all, he's escorted him there often enough. Another supporter is a teacher at school who sees Ciske befriending weaker boys and decides to become his guardian. Ciske is a tough nut, but he has an appealing personality and Danny de Munk makes him seem real. Despite his troubles Ciske remains upbeat and is a charming scamp. Danny was a well-known boy singer at the time, and is heard singing over the opening credits as well as during a scene in class. Nevertheless, he was willing to film a scene in the nude. He was 13 when the film was made, and grew up to become a singing star, appearing in many stage musicals. The film is based on a Dutch classic book and is a remake of a 1955 black-and-white version.

After the death of his parents a 10-year-old orphan is sent to live with an aunt he's never seen, a brusque woman in a lesbian relationship who lives in a gay bar she owns. Not everybody is thrilled with the assignment, especially the boy's grandfather, but surprisingly little is made of community disapproval. Instead, the focus is on the relationships among the various characters. Luckily, the writing and acting are outstanding, especially Rachel Ward and Bernadette Peters as the lesbian partners and, in the best role I've seen him in, Jonathan Silverman as the gay "uncle", who works in the bar. The fact that the boy is also working in a gay bar, and apparently will be growing up there, doesn't seem to bother anybody, least of all the boy. Thomas Sangster, the 11-year-old actor who plays the part, gives a highly intelligent and affecting performance. Perhaps it's in his genes: he's the cousin of Hugh Grant.

A 13-year-old German boy, Robert, (Max Kullman) sets out to try and find his father, who's in Turministan. On his arrival there he meets up with a local boy (Murat Orasov)who agrees to help him, but they are abandoned by their adult guides and must fend for themselves. Not a classic but how many films have you seen made in Turkmenistan?

Joe the King is a coming of age story based loosely on writer-director Frank Whaley's life that looks like a Dickens story updated. Joe is ashamed of his drunken no-account father who's the janitor of the school Joe attends, a fact that his classmates and even a teacher delight in forcing Joe to admit. Joe has to wash dishes to help meet expenses but also to scrounge food to eat. One night his father in a drunken rage beats Joe's mother and smashes her treasured collection of vintage LPs. To replace it, Joe breaks into the restaurant and steals money but is found out and there is a freeze frame ending that recalls Truffaut's French classic, The 400 Blows. Noah Fleiss at 14 is a veteran and does an excellent job of bringing to life the doomed but plucky Joe while Val Kilmer portrays an insensitive slob who realizes only at the end that his son loves him despite everything. Although the theme is a downer there are flashes of comedy (the brash Joe is out of his depth when an older girl puts the make on him). The performances are fine and the movie is well worth seeing.