Customer Reviews

The Secret

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a satisfying, informative, and well-made family story directed by Karen Arthur. Filmed on location in a serene New England coastal town complete with lighthouses, cranberry bogs, and sailboats, this is an easy-moving yet edgy story of family relationships. It exposes viewers to the poignant behaviors and coping styles used by adults and children who have a very common "invisible disability" which touches one in seven of us.
Kirk Douglas'character Mike dotes on grandson Danny, yet Mike's own son Patrick (Bruce Boxleitner), in turn, shows a nearly embarrassing level of contempt for his father. Why? It all revolves around the Secret. But once the Secret is out and Mike understands its profound impact on his grandson and himself, what to do? How Mike stands tall to resolve this inner struggle with the help of family and friends makes us feel proud and good.

Dyslexia is genetic in our family; I recently bought this movie through yous and thought it was the best movie for this issue. It is about an older man who has to reveal to all and his little grandson his fighting issue; dyslexia, and how he has dealt with it all his life. A wonderful movie. Our whole family really enjoyed it.

Bought this because I like Kirk Douglas. Great movie as it also gives you the insight that people who can not read have feelings that they don't want others to know about. Never look down on someone you may think is lesser than yourself as you may end up missing something wonderful in life.

I "mis-clicked" and ordered this movie when I meant to buy the one about the Law of Attraction. This is -not- that DVD.

It was a nice movie though. It showed two possible approaches to handling a child's disability, in this case dyslexia.

My daughter has a learning disability similar to dyslexia. Instead of words arriving at her brain in incorrect order, they leave her hand in incorrect order. For example, she could memorize a list of spelling words and recite them perfectly, but she could not write them down. Even copying from the board to a piece of paper was torture.

In her case there was no stigma associated with it. We did everything possible to improve her abilities and teach her skills to deal with it. She is now a third year college student studying architecture.

I have seen children, though, whose parents do not want them "labeled" so they refuse to acknowledge the situation. Instead the kids grow up thinking they aren't as smart as their friends, and the teachers consider them "trouble makers" or "lazy". The labels are still there, they are just more painful.

I recommend this movie to all the parents out there that refuse to help their LD children.

I originally bought his movie because I'm a long time Bruce Boxleitner fan. As the story unfolded I became more involved in the story itself. As well as dealing with dyslexia this films deals with relationships on many levels. Mike (Kirk Douglas) has kept his secret throughout his life assisted by his now deceased wife and his best friend. His son Patrick (Bruce Boxleitner) has always felt as if his father didn't care about him and it all had to do with Mike attempting to keep his secret. When Mike realizes his grandson also has dyslexia, in order to help him, he needs to make a decision he has long avoided. Patrick at first fights the realization that his son has a learning disability. As the movie progresses and more is revealed he realizes that similar to the way his father kept him at a distance as a child he is doing similar to his own wife and son. He knows he has to change in order to help his son. Patrick comes to realize what his father's secret is and begins to understand why his father acted the way he did all those years ago and it wasn't because his father didn't love him. As a result the healing begins and relationships begin anew.

So heartwarming and inspirational...very good movie nice to see Kirk Douglas.

This film is really well made and well produced.

Loved the movie,very informative and helped me to understand my sons problem with writing and reading,and my own,buying was easy,and arrived on established time .

All I can say for this DVD is to see it and enjoy the suspence.
IT IS TRUELY WORTH WATCHING.

The movie was extremely moving and touching. I recommend this movie to people in the helping services field of work as well for a possible teaching tool for people with disabilities. A much check out!!

it was a good movie and inspirational is what I remember. I did enjoy it and will watch it again.