Genre: Children. Adventure.
2008.
Nim and her father, an important
scientist expert on marine microorganisms, live in an island of the Pacific, isolated from the rest of the world except for the occasional merchant ships which provide them with provisions as well as the access the internet they have in their delightful shelter. A shelter that, under a starry sky and in the shadow of a threatening volcano, has turned into a home for both, father and daughter and where Nim has struck up a friendship with Fred (an iguana), Selkie (a sea lion) and Galileo (a pelican) which follow her everywhere.
But her "friends" and her father aren´t the only ones who share her unusual life in the island: Alex Rover, the literary main character of a lot of adventures, is waiting for her, faithfully, among the pages of the novels Nim devours without a break, making her "travel" to remote and dangerous places.
One day, when her father decides to set sail to take marine specimens, Nim is in charge of the island and she´s going to be surprised when she finds out that, among the emails her father receives, there is one of Alex Rover himself, asking for information about volcanoes. So Nim and her hero start establishing a communication which will be interrupted by a furious tempest in the ocean: the same tempest that will sink her father´s ship. The situation becomes more complicated when a cruise ship arrives at the island with the plan of establishing a residential complex which would destroy their secret shelter.
Worried about her father´s absence, Nim thinks there´s only one person who is able to rescue him safe and sound from the sea: the adventurer Alex Rover.
But things aren´t as easy as she thinks because Alex Rover isn´t the brave character of Nim´s novels but an hypochondriac and timid writer called Alexandra Rover...
How will she help a girl who is far away in a lost island when she´s unable to get out of her house?. Will Alexandra be able to overcome her fears and throw herself into adventure bringing out the "Alex Rover" she has deep inside?.
When a child pins the hopes on a "paper hero" you never know what´ll happen...
"Nim´s island" is a story by Wendy Orr, which´s been made into a movie in a fairly reliable adaptation that tells us about the unshakable love for loved ones and the Faith and Hopes that strengthen us so that we can overcome our fears, showing us a courage we thought we didn´t have inside.
Shot in the australian beaches (Gold Coast) and played by the popular
Abigail Breslin in the role of the cheerful Nim, the movie counts on the splendid
Jodie Foster ("The silence of the lambs", "Contact", "Anna and the King") as Alexandra Rover, in a totally different role from the ones we are used to that proves she has a great talent for comedy although it hasn´t been promoted enough , as well as the versatile
Gerard Butler ("300", "P.S. I love you", "Phantom of the Opera") in the double role of Nim´s father and the adventurer Alex Rover (it was his manager´s idea to play both roles), showing again that he manages like a fish swimming in water, in every genre whether it be comedy, romance, action or drama, giving us here the portrait of a cheeky and joking adventurer.
In short, the whole family will enjoy this amusing and full of values story.