That's why I love Shyamalan productions! "Wide Awake" tells a beautiful story about a young boy who tries to find God after his grandfather dies. It's nice to notice that Shyamalan likes to involve faith and religion in his pictures, mostly gathered with an atheist vain, and that's maybe what I liked the most about this film. Joshua is an obedient and affectionate child that asks himself all the time if there is a god or no, which is an idea that probably inspired 2001's "Artificial Intelligence: AI" and 2002's "Signs". It's refreshing to re-notice how strong Shyamalan's power of direction is, considering he's able to make profound sentimental scenes without trying too hard. The scenes in which Joshua talks to his grandfather are touching and soo beautiful to see that I asked myself "Why didn't I see this before?". I dare to confess I find Joseph Cross' acting even BETTER than Haley Joel Osment's in "The Sixth Sense"-- and so is the story. GREAT hidden gem, give it a chance!

While many people believe this movie is not worth the time and use the low grossing as evidence to back that up, I believe it is an excellent coming of age story. It shows us how children deal with death and reminds us that sometimes it takes a tragedy to open our eyes. It may be a little mundane to use a child as the center for a coming of age drama to give the audience a lesson in how to deal with death, but this movie does a really good job of waking us up. I cried and I laughed. Each time I cried it was real and sad, but each time I laughed it was heartfelt and even if for a fraction of a second that laugh made me happy. It is hard to find a quality movie that is able to invoke such an emotional response.

I saw this movie this morning by chance on cable and it is absolutely charming.Though this doesn't have the plot twists that Sixth Sense had, it does address some of the same issues, including death and the spirituality of children.Joseph Cross, the kid who plays the main character, is great and so is Rosie O'Donnell as one of the nuns at the school he attends. Also very good is Dan Lauria(he was the Dad on "The Wonder Years) in a small role as one of the priests.All in All, very good movie for kids 9+ and families.Bob C.

I truly enjoyed this little sleeper of a film. I had never heard of it and fell upon it by chance. It's completely unlike the other films I've seen by M. Night Shyamalan in that it's not caught up in the supernatural or science fiction. I think it really show just what a great film maker he is. Made in 1998 it was just before his big stuff hit the screens. It's just a simple story of a young boy searching for God after his Grandfather dies and in the process finding himself awakening to what's going on in life as well as restoring his faith. A pretty good cast all around, and all basically in supporting roles for the young actor Joseph Cross carries the film. I don't know why it kept such a low profile.