Delicate, subtle, as a spring wind. A trip in the childhood colors, with the map of a gorgeous music. Nothing new, nothing spectacular. Two boys and the victory of good. A sword and two worlds. And the music as Proust madlene. A film who must be tasted by everyone. Not only for remember the beauty of a far age but for be more than a shadow. A film for understand the essence of life. Like a hopscotch in the grandparents yard. Christian Bale as Yo-yo, Chistopher Lee as Kato are bones of a time when the life was not a chase, not fiction or frustrations. And,an important piece is the language. In Russian the entire atmosphere is soft and warm.

I have 5 things in my house that if it were burning down I would risk my life to save them; The Land of Faraway is one of them. I have a VHS copy from the U.S. that I got in 1989 when I was 3 years old. I'm 22 now and I still love the film that much, I'm actually watching it right now.This review may contain spoilers! The Land Of Faraway or Mio Min Mio, as most people know it, is the story of a boy named Bosse. His adoptive parents hate him and let him know it, the older kids bully him, and he only has two real friends: Mrs. Lundin a nice young woman who works at a local store and Benke a boy from school. Bosse greatest dream is to have a father that loves him like Benke. One day Mrs. Lundin gives Bosse a golden apple and asks him to mail a post card for her. The post card is to the King of the Land of Faraway and says something like "the one you have been looking for is here; he will have an apple of gold in his hand". Then out of a bottle on the ground a giant head/spirit emerges and takes Bosse away to the Land of Faraway. Bosse finds out that he's really Mio the Prince of the Land of Faraway! But there is a great evil man named Kato who steals children and turns them into birds, legend says that only a Prince can kill Kato and save the children. So Mio/Bosse sets of with friend Jum-Jum/Benke on an awesome adventure to defeat Kato! The music in the film is so beautiful and haunting; you will be humming it for days. The acting by Nick Pickard as Bosse/Mio and Christian Bale as Benke/Jum-Jum is outstanding. I particularly love the lighting in the film; firelight creates creepy shadows across the sets and really sets the mood for the darker scenes. The copy I have is old so the sound is really bad and since the movie was made in the late 1980s the video quality looks sort of fuzzy and out of focus compared to new DVDs.I would recommend this movie to every kid I have ever met and to adults who are fantasy fans.~*Leah

I saw this movie first in the early 90's when I was a kid and watched it again yesterday, 10+ years later. It was more impressive back then, I must admit. :)The first part of the story reminded me of Harry Potter and the second of Lord of the Rings, however it solid on it's own and has enough unique features, so you wouldn't be bored. A great fairytale for kids. Not too complex and doesn't have that much emotional tension. I only wish the acting was better, and the events would happen faster, but for an 1987 kids movie it's fine. Otherwise an enjoyable adventure.

But I haven't been able to find it since I was about ten years old, which was eight years ago. Still, I remember that I was awed by the invisibility cloak, have the "Mio, my Mio" tune stuck in my head now in then - the one that gets played on the pipes sticks there too at times - and frightened by the ending battle scene. and children being turned to crows, and the bread, and...ok, I'm going to stop before I give away too many things. A great movie to see if you ever find it.