SnoopyStyle Dick Dandelion (Jamie Bell) lives in an American mining town. He's a new miner and works in the general store. He buys a toy gun from introverted Susan (Alison Pill). It turns out to be a real gun. He recruits the town's outcasts to form a gun club calling themselves The Dandies. He has his version of pacifism with particular rules. Krugsby (Bill Pullman) is the sheriff.Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and written by Lars von Trier, this has a surreal unreality. I didn't make the connection to Lars von Trier's Dogville when I first saw this. I almost prefer Dogville's outlandish surrealism. This felt annoyingly fake. The voice-overs leave me cold. There is a wrongness that I couldn't comprehend. Even with new eyes, the fakeness strikes me wrong. Of course, there is a point but it could have been more compelling to give it better truths.

Martin Bradley 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.

floppy00007 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. :)

ReelFilmster A pacifist writes a love letter to his lost gun which helped him gain confidence in himself and others. He soon starts a gun club for other pacifists and social outcasts. the one rule is to carry your gun- but never brandish it in public. but soon they all realize what a gun was made for- and despite their beliefs- they acknowledge that the guns should be serving their purposes. short and sweet- the movie's a metaphor for how a gun can become an extension of someone's personality and how someone's personality can become an extension of a gun- in exactly the same way two people can become an extension of each other by sharing a loving relationship. which is why the movie is written like a love letter. in love you find each other...and if the love is true the next step you approach together is death. And in relationships you never try to change who you're lover truly is.If you are confused by this film think of it like this:"Relationships" build confidence and ego- even though it may be false. Not having a "Relationships" can crush you back to nothing. "Relationships" can make you possessive, jealous, and vengeful. "Relationships" can make you feel invincible and unstoppable. "Relationships" can make you forget what your own goals were because you are constantly thinking about what else you could do with your "Relationship". If you're together all the time and never apart, people stop thinking of you as an individual and only see the "Relationship". Now to understand this movie...replace the word "Relationship" with the word "gun". wow eh? notice how all those points happened in the movie...do you feel a little smarter for knowing that now? good. I'm glad. Sincerely, RF