Working in English writer Lars von Trier and director Thomas Vinterberg tackle American gun culture in a highly original and deeply disturbing fashion; it's the kind of satire I can't imagine an American film-maker making. It's about a group of young misfits in an American mining town who form a 'pacifist' gun club. The purpose? To love their guns, (Wendy is a pistol), but hate killing. When they allow a young gun-loving criminal into the group you might think things are going to go badly and they do, but not quite in the way you might expect.Young British actor Jamie Bell is excellent as the boy who founds the club and Danso Gordon is outstanding as the young criminal who, at first, challenges his authority but who turns out to be perhaps the most sensible member of this strange gang. Indeed, all the performances are excellent as is Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography. The film itself came and went with almost no-one seeing it. Do yourself a favor and look this one up.

I'm afraid that I don't really see the ironies that other reviewers seem to see. Maybe the film is too good, or maybe it's just difficult to be ironic about this sort of thing.It comes across, to me, as a documentary. This is just the sort of thing that children, particularly inadequate ones, do in that part of the world. The use of massive lethal force against a group of , essentially unarmed children (their weapons are ancient and don't work very well) also seems par for the course in that part of the world.I suppose that buying a real gun in a toyshop by mistake is a bit of a stretch, but, in the context, it seemed quite likely - I'd not be surprised if it had happened.So, what's the moral message? I suppose, if you have children, bring them up in a civilised country. That's all I can see.

I was guiding our school for a movie performance. Our kids (aged 16-17) are taken to the theater a couple of times for a special "high quality" movie. Most of the times the movies the school board chooses are not appreciated by the young audience. Last time it was "Rabbit Proof Fence" which won several prizes, this time it was "Dear Wendy".The plot could work: How confused young teenagers cope with life in America, a land consumed by violence and weapons.But well executed? No. The actors do a fine job, but the script just doesn't work. The film is really sluggish, it seemed like hours, although it only took a hour and a half. Every time you keep asking, is there more to come? A boy writing a long letter to his gun just isn't very appealing. A club of teenagers dressed in weird clothes, adoring guns but stand for pacifism? Come one, that just has to lead to hilarious moments, while the goal of the writer obviously is to make people think, but again, it just doesn't. The movie is just bizarre, weird.When I read lots of other reviews here about "Dear Wendy" I am just gobsmacked how it can be so popular. The movie has won a prize and several nominations. I know how it comes. Just a small amount of people would like movies like these. Lets say scared parents, people who want to be politically correct in all ways and say, hey, a non-Hollywood like movie to promote pacifism would be a thriller for all our teenagers and kids, yay.But no.When I asked our pupils from our school if they liked the movie, and no one said yes. I, as a teacher and adult neither liked it. It is just to weird in all aspects. This is just a movie who likes to give a message to the people, but they are trying to try to hard and make a freak show out of it. Just like they are doing with a lot of other films.The talent is to make a good movie, with a message underneath that works. And we all know that is possible, but hey, we all know the directors who can.To finish I can conclude:Dear Wendy is a movie who tries to forces something out, it is really sluggish and doesn't give a lot of entertaining value, nor makes it people think. Not all movies who try to be politically correct are good movies. I like entertaining movies, I like Hollywood movies (the crew of Dear Wendy obviously hates Hollywoord) and there is nothing wrong with a Hollywood movie. At least it entertains people, and we teachers don't have to suffer from our teenagers who nag about how bad the movie was. :)

Considered to be a fan of both Thomas Vinterberg and Lars von Trier, I was very disappointed about this film. This simply do not function as a story, or as a kind of criticism of gun-affection. The idea might be good, but it's all going wrong quite early in the film. There's several things that goes wrong here, not making this the cult movie they obviously wanted to make. Only Jamie Bell does the film believable, the others are caricatured.   Bill Pullman is the worst. One obviously knows this will end in catastrophe, or - is it a kind of happy ending about miserable souls? The worst ting is that the film isn't even entertaining, but rather boringly told, especially when it comes to the storytelling voice of Dick. This rarely functions in a cinematic film, and absolutely do not function here either.   Tragic misuse of talented Jamie Bell, and a hopeless effort to make an American movie in Denmark with international cast. Get back to making films from your own country. We love those. Get well soon!   Save your time from watching this. It'll most certainly give you more thoughts about the writer and the director, than on the subject they want you to think about.