I thought this was a simple and heart warming story. The lead character played by Lambert reminded me of the characters played by Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump", and Peter Sellers in his last film "Being There" I liked pretty much every character in the film, except the maintenance man. He let Gideon chop all that wood while he sat back and drank beer, and had a hardy laugh at the guy's expense when he found out Gideon couldn't read ("you're as dumb as a rock").I liked the way Lambert played his character, always hinting there was more than meets the eye.I like Lambert, from his portrayal of Tarzan in the only movie that was a realistic adaptation of the ERB novel, and too bad he hasn't had a more visible career in Hollywood.Anyway, I think this movie stands on its own merits.

A young man of apparently limited abilities finds himself living in a retirement home, unwittingly showing how being smart ain't all it's cracked up to be and being "slow" isn't the worst handicap in the world.As someone who has worked for years with folks who qualify for Special Olympics (and been soundly beaten at bowling with them on more than one occasion, I might add) I found Christopher Lambert's portrayal realistic and truly touching. I've enjoyed his quiet subtlety in the Highlander series, and here I found myself smiling again and again as he captured the details, the movements, exactly the right tones in showing us this man Gideon. A great performance, I believe, and it makes me want to know more about Lambert--especially considering his role as producer of this film.The film has a stellar ensemble cast with nothing but A-level performances from each, but I could never find my way past the shallow portrayal of life in a retirement home--every person, even the depressed, bright-eyed, every room highly personalized. I kept waiting for Ward and June Cleaver to show up. This place doesn't smell like any "retirement" home I've ever been in, and I've been quite a few over the years. The failure to establish a credible "world" made it impossible for me to accept the story, and this limitation was only supported by the extremely one-dimensional nature of the characters. An ex-boxer? Well, he doesn't read, he just practices shadow boxing in his room.In all, it's a film I'm glad I saw, but can't imagine sitting through it twice.

This was really a superb movie. I loved it, and I'm so mad that it isn't for sale anywhere. The actors were very good. I wish there were more movies like this. Movies about real life things are so grand, but yet we don't get them enough. If there is anyone out there who knows how I can find this movie, tell me please.

How can you find happiness, when you feel useless? Who can bring you hope, when it's gone? Someone who can see the sun even in a thunderstorm. And this someone is - Gideon, the man who has stayed a child in mind, but with a heart embracing even the pain hopelessness can bring. He, the weakminded, brings new live to the old ones in a home for the aged (played by most wonderful actors)..You don't need to be a fan of Christopher Lambert to like this film. But to say the truth - he is really convincing. If you like him as an actor - don't miss this one. In addition the story has everything I like - a whole bunch of different people and their relations, that you seem to know for a long time after a few minutes (wonderful work of Brad Mirman) - a touching story and also things that make me smile.