Fabulista Reviews: December Boys.

I caught the movie the other and have since gotten the original publication. It (the movie) is based on a novel of the same name by Michael Noonan. The protagonists of the story are really four orphan boys born in December sharing a common but strong bond borne out of a link beyond space and time.

One of the underlying theme seemed to suggest that children need a constant adult figure – the absence of which may lead to insecurity and constant self-doubt about one’s worth; no longer daring to hope – death of the spirit. Also, everyone needs companionship and everyone’s existence is dependent on relationships.

On the other hand, on a less tangible level, the characters brings one to realize that hope or the ability to hope is essential to one’s survival, even to the extent of meaningful living – the lost of which is internally devastating and externally destructive. Consequently, the proposed idea is that one must never kill another’s hope.

Nevertheless, despite the deeper ideas that the story arch tries to put to the audience, December Boys is ultimately a bittersweet adventure story of friendship that stands the test of time and emotional upheavals.