Tideland (FYI: this contains spoilers)

Tideland
by Terry Gilliam

WOW. First of all, kudos to Terry for the shock value. Yes, there were some twisted things in this movie - things that a child should never know or see. However, Jeliza Rose had no idea what the real world was about in her naive mind.

Seeing the way she lived in the first 15 minutes of the movie was very moving. For a child to understand how to give her daddy his "fix" and prop him up for his "vacation"...she removed his cigarette and put it out to keep him from burning down the house. It's no wonder she cared less about her mom dying - it seemed to me she was a true doper - on her last breath anyway. But how she drew Jeliza Rose close and told her she was sorry and she'd do something really special for her one day - then to smack her hand and say, "How many times have I told you little bitch to stay off my chocolate!" and continues to cry like nothing happened...poor child.

Her father coming in the room in the middle of the night to show her the picture of the dead body right before her mother dies was pretty wild. Although you could see things like this were normal to her. Her father was into all kinds of supernatural and witchcraft by the designs on his walls and what he was reading. He was paranoid, never did talk much sense, but she understood him. And she loved him more than anyone else.

Once they got to the farm, I was immediately worried. I knew the dad wouldn't last when he asked her, "You wouldn't go skimping on daddy now would you?" As a child, she had no idea that just a little more would do him in. I think she knew he was dead - but did not accept it. She had no one else and as long as he sat in that chair she felt like she wasn't alone.

After she would get finished helping her dad on "vacation" and made sure things were safe to leave him, it was her time to be a child and explore. Her doll heads each had their own personality and were her only friends. She picked fights with them and fought inside her head; but if we think back to being a child, we did that same thing. She loved her doll heads and felt sympathy for them even tho it was make believe.

Her innocence to things is beautiful even when it came to her fascination with Dickie. I love how Terry G. subtly tells you reasons for things without making a big deal out of it. Like the overturned bus - Dickie telling her how he and her grandmother were "silly kissers" and that when she fell down the stairs he ran b/c he was little and didn't know what to do.

I'm going to have to admit. What Del did to those bodies is very odd. But so were they - and to them it made perfect sense. The bees obviously messed her up - but I have a feeling it ran in the family anyway. Sadly, since Jeliza Rose was a child it filled her world with fantasy in regards to death instead of reality. But again, since her daddy was in the bed upstairs, she didn't feel alone.

The day Del catches Jeliza Rose and Dickie in his room, she goes ape shit and kicks her out. After running home and praying on her dead father for happiness, peace and comfort she falls asleep. When the bomb exploded I knew exactly what happened.

I was so happy the woman took her under her wing. She even heard Jeliza Rose curse Del when she saw her and it caused her to pull her closer to her in a safe way. The fairies in the end were a nice touch. It was almost as if they were always there, watching.

On a side note: I have to wonder how the poor child would survive normally after an upbringing such as that - and to then be exposed to reality...but that wasn't the point of the story.