Truth comes from the mouths of babes. Or rather kids, or young adults, or the future of humanity . . . whatever you label them, the pint-sized pulse-takers of youth culture are back this summer with their own tell-all reviews of the movies for young viewers screening every Wednesday evening at the Chilmark Community Center.
The organizers of the Summer Film Series at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival teamed up with the Gazette to bring you reviews by Island kids, here for the summer or year-round, each Tuesday, before each Wednesday film presentation.
First up is Stella Frank, age 12, reviewing the opening night film Jump! which plays tomorrow, July 2, at 5:30 p.m. at Chilmark Community Center.
Jump! Directed by Helen Hood Scheer. USA (2007), 85 minutes.
“Who would have thought that a simple rope could do so much?”
Jump! is a documentary about the world of jump rope competition. The film shows five different teams from around the country leading up to the world championships in Toronto, Canada. The kids who compete are aged 11 to 22.
Before the world championships, the teams compete in regionals and then the nationals. There are different events such as three minute speed, freestyle and double Dutch — both single and double. The kids practice for up to six hours a day. There is even one competitor (Tori, a middle schooler) who has asthma attacks both during and after the three minute speed, and is crying in pain, but keeps going. Keeps pushing herself. If you think jump rope is all fun and games or if you think jump rope is a nice game to play at school, then you really need to see this film.
The film also shows how the teams create their own routines. The routines look dangerously hard and unrealistically impossible. They aren’t impossible, but they take a lot of practice to master. The film shows that with hard work they can master very creative jump routines.
If you think the dancers on So you Think you Can Dance are good, wait until you see this film!
Watching this film you will be exited to know who wins. But, as a coach said, “You are not always going to win in life. And sometimes, you gain more from loosing because it builds character.”
This is the perfect opening night film, and great movie for the whole family.
After the 5:30 p.m. Wednesday screening of Jump! there will be a jump rope presentation from Brewster’s Bayside Skippers at the Chilmark Community Center.
The family film is followed at 8 p.m. with the documentary Man on Wire about the artistic crime of the century. Cost for each film is $5 for festival members, $7 for center members and $10 for nonmembers.
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