Customer Reviews

The Dust Factory [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Dust Factory is one of those films with a long sequence where you can't tell if it's real or a dream - not until the end. Ryan Kelley (until now best known for guest appearances as Ryan on Smallville) is a troubled boy who's been mute since the trauma of witnessing his father's violent death in a train accident, several years ago. Now, after his grandmother's funeral Ryan skates across an old bridge to go fishing with a friend. But a rail collapses and Ryan falls in the river, knocked unconscious. This is when the "dream" sequence begins, where he meets a girl, Melanie (Hayden Panettiere) and speaks to his grandfather (who has had alzheimer's and hasn't talked for a while), informing the apparently revitalized old man of his wife's death. But no one else is around. Has Ryan died and gone to heaven? Purgatory? An alien experiment? Or is he dreaming in a near-death state? Can Ryan and Melanie stay together for ever in this place, or must they somehow move on to find paradise? While this dream sequence that comprises most of the movie suffers from heavy symbolism, it's entertaining and romantic, and the end is satisfying. I think this is one of the best films of it's kind in several years that's suitable for the whole family. If you like films that deal with life and death with elements of fantasy and romance, like Bridge to Terabithia, Heaven Can Wait, That's The Spirit, On Borrowed Time, Here Comes Mr. Jordan etc., you'll probably enjoy The Dust Factory.

Intelligent movies for young teenagers are hard to come by. They are either hopelessly saccharine Disney-fied movies that no kid could ever relate to or 90-minute product placements. Both types tend to leave little to the imagination. Every so often a film comes along that stands out by bucking contemporary trends and fads. The Dust Factory is such a film. It is a thoughtful meditation on loss. How do you deal with the death of a loved one?

"Making The Dust Factory" is a far too brief look at the movie with the cast and crew talking about it and their characters with clips.

There are two deleted scenes that include one in which Ryan and Melanie move a trunk and another that takes place at the ball. They are both brief and not important but could have easily been kept in.

Also included is a music video for the sappy ballad "Someone Like You," performed by Hayden Panettiere. There is footage of her recording the song with Watt White and clips from the movie.

Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.

The Dust Factory is a rare film that champions imagination without irony. The two young actors are excellent and devoid of annoying child actor tics like mugging for the camera. They deliver heartfelt, believable performances. The movie relies on good old fashioned storytelling which is something you don't see much in kids' films anymore. It eschews modern trappings, like TV, video games and the Internet in favour of collecting baseball cards and gazing at the stars. This gives the film a timeless nature that is refreshing in this day and age.

Ah what a surprise I found in The Dust Factory. This is a good example of the level of quality a great writer and director can acheive together.
A boy with elective mutism who has a lot of mixed feelings about life and death, as well as a grandfather in advanced stages of Alzheimers, falls into a lake and seemingly drowns. He instead goes to a strange and almost surrealistically perfect world called The Dust Factory. There he meets a girl able to skate on water as well as his grandfather who in this world, is able to talk and move about without a worry to be found. At first, he decides this is a great place of perfection, and that he would love to stay forever. Later on, through many lessons learned, he rethinks that decision and decides that perhaps there is a life to go back to in the real world.

The direction and scope of this movie is enormous at times. It isn't preachy in it's messages, all of which are of great value, and it doesn't dilute it's merits by subverting to treating young people like they are lesser people than that of adults. The only gripe i have about the movie is that it seemed too short, As if there were more story to tell somewhere along the way and for whatever reason, the director chose not to include some scenes. Its a DVD sparse of features although there is a very brief look behind the scenes of the film. I would be interested in an edition that includes more scenes (If they exist) as this is one of the greatest young people's movies I have seen in quite some time. More like this, Please. 4.75 stars

The Dust Factory is a story about the hope and spiritual recovery of an emotionally and physically traumatized boy named Ryan(Ryan Kelley). Ever since witnessing the train ran over his father at the age of nine, he had became mute and internally depressed. One day, while rollerblading on an old bridge, he fell into the river and it instantly put him into a coma. In his mind, he entered an imaginary land somewhere between Heaven and Earth, and met Melanie(Hayden Panettiere), who skates on the water of the lake, while she's trapped in that dimension. They became friends instantly, and she took him to the Dust Factory, where folks would make their leap into other Dimensions or return to where they came from.

Later, Ryan and Melanie ran into his Grandpa(Armin Mueller-Stahl), who was severely afflicted by Alzheimers, and was in the process of making a transition from life back to Heaven, which means he was dying already when Ryan was in the coma. Grandpa helped Ryan understand the importance of life and that he must summon his courage to make the leap so he can return to his mother......

This film showcased wonderful performances from the three leads, and I especially loved Hayden Panettiere's character. There's not a whole lot of special effects used, but the story is filled with messages of hope, courage, friendship, and love. It's a magical and touching experience that makes this film a good viewing especially with friends and family.

Contrary to popular belief, films do not have to be dumbed-down for children. Much of the pleasure they get comes from puzzling out complex plot developments and recognizing subtle details. And there is actually a small sub-genre of children's films (mostly independents) that challenge young viewers to use their imaginations and film viewing skills.

"The Dust Closet" joins "An Angel for May" and "Restless Spirits" as the best recent examples of this type of film. These films have a hidden depth to their story and storytelling technique that will interest even the most sophisticated viewer-provided that they retain at least some of their childhood capacity for wonder. The weak vote count probably reflects viewers unable or unwilling to deal with a film that requires some mental energy and a few functioning brain cells.

Ryan Flynn (Ryan Kelley) is a teenager who has refused to speak since being traumatized when he saw his father killed at a train crossing. Ryan's father died when Ryan was nine years old, but not before he passed on a passion for astronomy to his son. But now Ryan is having trouble connecting with astronomy, symbolized by his inability to find the man in the moon his father drew for him. Like an impressionist painting, the moonscape becomes meaningless when viewed close up through his new telescope.

Ryan's family takes care of his grandfather (Mueller-Stahl), but Ryan barely knows him because he has had Alzheimer's for a number of years. Ryan hangs out with his best friend Rocky (Michael Angarano), and they communicate fine nonverbally. Rocky does not question Ryan's silence-he just accepts it. Things dramatically change one day when Ryan falls off a bridge and into a lake while roller-blading. When he surfaces Rocky is gone and everything is a little off-kilter. His grandfather is completely recovered and living alone it their house, which was his originally. They have meaningful conversations and his grandfather tries to pass on advice on how to get the most out of life. Ryan meets a pretty girl his own age named Melanie (Hayden Panettiere) who can ice skate on the surface of the lake-even though to Ryan it is summer and the lake is not frozen.

The story is basically told from Ryan's point of view and we learn along with him that this new reality is a place called "The Dust Factory". The film is an allegory (the expression by symbolic means of generalizations about human existence) about the process of living; much like "Groundhog Day". The idea is that most of us just go through the motions of living (each day is just a repeat of the day before). The themes are basically the same, the importance of having the courage to live life to the fullest and to get the most out of each day.

"Groundhog Day" illustrated this by having one day keep repeating itself for the main character . "The Dust Factory" does it by creating a symbolic place between life and death. This place is populated by all those in a coma state, their bodies are alive but their conscious mind is no longer functioning. The circus ring is the point where people finally decide whether to get on with living or to get on with dying (a line I borrow from "Shawshank Redemption").

Either choice is a valid alternative depending mostly on what stage you are at in your life (the grandfather chooses death-the teenagers choose to live for a while longer). The wrong thing is being stuck there in limbo, afraid to risk it in the circus ring. Such people are called dawdlers and symbolize the day-to-day existence of many people. But "The Dust Factory" is also a place where people can pull back and take an objective and distanced look at their lives; seeing things from this perspective allows them to recognize things (like the man in the moon) they were too close to see before (the forest for the trees). Those who come back have no conscious memory of the place (they have been dreaming while in a coma) but subconsciously retain things they have learned; like the Grandfather's advice to not forget that you are on a quest for paradise, and that a fear of dying or hurting keeps you from letting go of security and really living. It takes some work to sort this film out and it probably should be viewed several times because it withholds a lot of its pleasure from the first viewing. The cast does a first-rate job. Panettiere is unexpectedly effective. In her prior film work, her extreme self-assurance overwhelms the character she is playing and works against her performances. Here she plays someone who uses a cocky attitude to hide her fear and insecurity. This multi- dimensionality connects with viewers who then relate to the protectiveness Ryan develops toward Melanie.

The movie goes out on a painfully sappy duet "Someone Like You," performed by Panettiere and Kelley (she can sing-he cannot). My advice would be to hit the off button very early in the closing credits.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

The Dust Factory

A tale of a teen boy whose father was killed a few years earlier in a heroic effort to rescue the boy and his mother from an on-coming train. During a near drowning, the boy is thrust into a land of "between" where he is given guidance by his French grandfather about life in general and learns vicariously from the teen girl there. It is understood from the beginning that this is the place where you choose to go on, or to go back to living.

The movie is full of "wisdoms" and visual and situational archetypes. Indeed, every item and situation is built almost entirely with double meaning, so that the story line itself becomes insignificant. Some teens may find it fascinating and watch it repeatedly to get all the connotations, but most I think will find it sappy and slow.

It may very well appeal to kids ages 7-12, but there are scary sections in it about death and what appears too closely to be the devil, and so I don't recommend this film for them.

There are no evil characters. All the tension is based on personal avoidance issues.

Adults, on the other hand, may find it "wise". Life is harder than death, We are made of dust, We are blocked from forward motion by our remembrances and wishes. That kind of stuff. . The grandfather's accent and the deep timber of his voice make it hard to understand him over home speakers. I had to really concentrate. I was very glad to hear him "teach" with fresh words, fresh sayings. In this aspect, triteness was avoided.


The photography is incredible and beautiful. If you watch movies as art forms, this is an ideal movie to see.

If you are looking for excitement, pathos, mystery, or love, this movie contains none. It could almost be considered a watered down version of What Dreams May Come.


Susan Palmer

I can certainly understand why some people have connected with "The Dust Factory." At least it attempts something intriguing. This is an existential fantasy that explores a world of "limbo," a place between life and death. It's a rather fantastical world, too--what with the circus standing as the surreal exit from this idyllic place. As a film geared toward younger viewers, I suppose there are some interesting ideas and visuals to recommend the film. However, for me, the execution was cutesy and cloying. I didn't expect a film about life and death to contain such contrived "preciousness."

Ryan Kelley plays a teenager who has remained mute since the death of his father. It's one of those classic movie cliches--this boy must be fixed. One day, he plunges off a bridge and appears to be drowning. He is transported to The Dust Factory. In this world, he meets his Grandfather (who in the real world was disconnected with Alzheimer's). Of course, here his Grandfather is fully capable and loaded with charm and wisdom. He also meets a young girl played by Hayden Panettiere. She is impossibly cute and upbeat, so obviously lives in denial about her real circumstances. They form a tentative romance and together contemplate never leaving this world.

With some heavy-handed metaphors, the exit to The Dust Factory is a trapeze act. If you are successful, you move to another realm. If not, you're reduced to dust and return to the physical world. The circus ringleader is a vague reference to death--at one point, Kelley even plays hockey with "death" to win Panetierre's freedom (not quite the chess game from "The Seventh Seal"--but similar in conception).

I was never particularly captivated by the fantasies within "The Dust Factory," but that wasn't my biggest issue. I just found the whole thing emotionally manipulative--sweet and sugary. Many find that this film doesn't talk down to kids--I don't know, maybe I was a rather sophisticated kid (or maybe just emotionally stunted). The romance is cutesy cute, the lessons obvious, and the cliches abundant. A good idea, but it just didn't work for me. KGHarris, 12/06.

I've seen this film twice now and each time with more interest and enjoyment.
There are many levels to this film and I plan to send it to many friends to explore and enjoy. They did a great job and the actors are wonderful as is the story.

Sorry I must disagree with others here & I'm sure that probably those reading what I write here will give a negative response but I don't care - The plot is inane & the boy who is the lead actor needs acting & diction lessons. He doesn't know how to speak properly - or was he coached to do that? I'm glad others enjoyed the movie but I didn't & wasn't interested enough to sit through all of it. Watching a kid who didn't seem to have much talent acting & spoke like most teens speak - monotones & mumbling - didn't interest me. There are better things to do & better movies to watch.

Our whole family loved this movie - daughter age 11 and son age 16 tell me they feel so strong and uplifted after watching.