cabro11 I read the book by Torey Hayden a while ago and didn't know that the film was based on that until I began watching it. The book was not something I would normally have watched but once I started I could not put it down.Although some may say it is not as good as the book the storyline is almost identical, after only 5 minutes into the film ( even though all the names were different )I knew it was based on the book and the cast had been picked exactly as i imagined them , well done ! I am not sure if I would have understood a lot of what was happening in the story had I not read the book but with hindsight I found it compulsive viewing as the book had been compulsive reading .

Angel_peanut Humm well I've read the book "One Child" and i have to say that they cut a lot more than i thought they would out they never talk about what caused or why the guy did what he did to the girl, I knew that there was a lot of stuff they couldn't actually show you like seeing what she actually had done or anything and i know that the film was made a while ago now but they didn't even cover it in a conversation between Maggie and Catline as when reading the book the after school sessions that they had were very important and the fact that she didn't talk at all when she joined the class.... Humm i liked the film and I'm sure that a lot of people liked it it was just a bit toooo far away from the book i thought but hey its hard to make a film like that so they did well for that :)...

phoebe_monkey I haven't actually seen this film, but I wanted to point out that it is based on Torey Hayden's book One Child, which is about a 6 year old girl called Sheila- Sheila came into Torey Hayden's class for "special children" at the age of 6 after having tied a 3-year-old child to a tree and critically burned him. (from the back of the book) Torey herself, on her website (www.torey-hayden.com) says that this film was not as good as she wanted it to be. If you want to get the real story, read One Child (and Tiger's Child- the sequel). Also, go to her website, which also has a message board to discuss her books and other stuff.

Swambi I watched this recently on DVD and I rate it as excellent - if you like children and have compassion for the disadvantaged.Although there was nothing outstanding in terms of filming or special effects the children's' acting is great and it is a truly heartwarming story, often difficult not to cry! Even more so when you realize that it is true.The other aspects of the story are cleverly interwoven, with interaction between the teachers, and with the teacher's home life, with well acted and thoroughly believable lines. However, it is always the scenes with the children that steal the show.