Kisses (2008)

Not exactly sweet, this tale of neighbors Dylan and Kylie, Irish preadolescents who escape their abusive suburban lives for a night on Dublin's streets searching for Dylan's runaway brother is thoughtful and beautifully photographed (by director/writer Lance Daly, Jake Corbett, and David Grennan, all uncredited). Daly does take credit for the subtitles, helpful for us Yanks (though not every line is captioned--go figure). It sounds depressing but has its light moments amid the squalor and humor amid the tragedy.

Two things to watch for: it begins in black and white, but this isn't Oz, with a dramatic switch to color. It happens gradually. You can decide for yourself what the dramatic turning points are. Also, prolific Irish actor Stephen Rea (just seen in Ondine) is uncredited in a cameo. I spotted him immediately, but thought I was mistaken when his name didn't appear at the end. Imdb confirmed my sighting. About halfway through the short running time (72 minutes) a busker teaches Dylan about his namesake Bob Dylan, and then tunes from Bob's oeuvre accompany many scenes following.

To describe the talented young stars, I've copied and pasted from the press kit (it did not have the hoped-for music credits, but if you want to read the whole thing you can download it from the bottom of this link): "As the filmmakers were coming to the final stages of casting, during which they visited scores of schools and saw over a thousand children, they set up a test to find their Kylie – they placed an uncomfortable wooden chair in the middle of the room with a padded leather one set over by the wall. All of the girls who came in to read for the part sat where they were told, in the uncomfortable chair, except for Kelly O'Neill, who almost immediately crossed the room to the better chair and dragged it into place. This act of independence immediately endeared the budding actress to the filmmakers." "Casting director Nick McGinley saw over a thousand children, choosing the most independent, headstrong characters with the strongest personalities. In the process of casting Kylie, Kelly O'Neill emerged as a front runner, but the filmmakers were worried that the prospective young Dylans would be overshadowed by her larger than life presence. She instructed her potential co-stars to make her tea and bring her biscuits during auditions - instructions which most followed without question. The only candidate who seemed immune to Kelly steamrolling them with the sheer force of her personality was Shane Curry, who without a second's thought told her to get lost and make her own tea."

In limited release, it made a rare appearance this side of the pond, and will be out soon on video, when you can enjoy it yourself. It gives more proof to Jack's assertion: someone else's family is always worse than yours.