An homage to Huck Finn and to Bob Dylan : Kisses

By no means is it a great movie, but the Irish indie "Kisses" has a lot going for it and may foretell more good works from Irish cinema and from this writer-director. Story about two abused kids, boy and girl (about 12 years old maybe?), next-door neighbors in an industrial suburb of Dublin, who run away to the city to escape horrible families. Like most child runaway stories, it's improbable for the most part and meant to be so, but more than most it includes some really rough elements and some very exciting moments. Many times when I was sure the kids would not make it - though I knew in movie terms they would have to (though the ending is ambiguous and intentionally disturbing). Part of the time, as the kids romp through a shopping mall wasting $ on a buzz cut and new sneakers, thought no kids would behave that way, they'd be really worried about how they were going to get through the night. At other times, I accepted that they were just kids, impulsive and naive, and that they'd manage. There are homages here to the greatest runaway story, Huck Finn (they take a canal barge to Dublin), and echoes of other runaway movies such as the great Little Fugitive and, in a funny way, with two young people building a romantic bond as they course through the night, I was reminded of Before Sunrise. The main homage in the movie is to Bob Dylan - the boy is named Dylan, and he learns that his antecedent is a "musical god," and who would disagree? Great Dylan songs on the soundtrack and one amusing "appearance" of Dylan in the film itself.