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Australia, United Kingdom · 2006
Rated PG · 1h 26m
Director Peter Cattaneo
Starring Sapphire Blossom, Christian Byers, Vince Colosimo, Jacqueline McKenzie
Genre Drama, Family
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Rex and his family struggle to make ends meet in an opal-mining community in the Australian Outback. Worried by his daughter's obsession with two imaginary friends, Pobby and Dingan, Rex tells his daughter that they are lost in the mine. However, his daughter's reaction to the news leads events to spiral to a tragic conclusion.
Rush screaming from anything that announces itself as "a movie for children and grown-ups of all ages." Slight and shamelessly saccharine, Opal Dream is devoted to the proposition that it takes an Australian-outback village to validate the imaginary friends of a blond child who is too sensitive for this world but not, alas, for this sappy movie.
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Though there are no Montys, full or otherwise, the finale will lift you up.
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
A warning to parents everywhere about the dangers of indulging irrational behavior, Opal Dream is a sickly sweet tale of deep dysfunction masquerading as family solidarity.
The film's sweetness derives primarily from the relationship between Ashmol and his unusual sister, and draws much of its richness from the unfamiliar and fascinating world of opal prospecting.
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
An exceptional family film, arriving just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Directed with sensitivity by "The Full Monty's" Peter Cattaneo, it is the antithesis of the standard synthetic Hollywood family movie, which is all too often weighed down by ludicrously exaggerated special effects and stunts and glazed over by gross humor.
The filmmaking here is flat, straight, and thoroughly lacking in poetry, and the script--co-written by Cattaneo, Rice, and Phil Traill--tells instead of showing.
A heartwarming family fable that parents and kids can enjoy.
San Francisco Chronicle by Walter Addiego
It's tear-jerker material but ends up being quite touching, and it's a good choice for family viewing.
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