If you want to know how loving and/or caring kids are...show them this movie. You'll learn a lot about their "true colors." I am a teacher that has shown this movie to all of my students for the past six years. I teach kids (with this movie) that even though they might have it bad because they live in rough and poor neighborhoods, they might actually have it better than others. Most of my female students cry because it is such a sad story. I've also had many of my male students cry as well. None of my students have ever made fun of each other about crying. This story brings up several topics that many people would dare not talk about. It is a great movie and if you are a teacher, this is a "must see" for all your kids!!!

I have to say this is one of the most touching and saddest films i've ever seen and I'm not even exagerating. This is one of the most well acted and saddest films! It stars Joseph Mazzello(Jurassic Park) and Brad Renfro(Ghost World), who are some of the best actors around. The film is about Dexter(Mazzello) who is a eleven year old boy who unfortunetly got AID's through a blood transusion, him and his mom are shunned out from the town because of his sickness and just live there lives by staying at there home everyday and all day. Brand Renfro plays a troubled, rebel teenager named Erik who befriends Dexter one day and soon after becomes friends, they both go threw a bunch of obstacles together. One day they both are at a store buying candy when Erik stumbles upon a magazine with a man claiming that he has found the cure for AID's which sparks Erik and Dexter into going to New Orleans to find the man and help Dexter survive before its too late. Its a film with heart and fascination. Theres this one absolutley tear jerking scene where Dexter and Erik's mom are face to face, the scene is so sad, especially the scene before that. It was a privalege to see this film.

I AM A BIG BUCKSOME BLACK,36 YEAR OLD HETEROSEXUAL MAN. I HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE AT LEAST SIX TIMES. EVERYTIME I SEE IT, TEARS NEVER FAIL TO FALL. ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING, TEACHING, INSPIRING MOVIES THAT SHALL ALWAYS REMAIN ONE OF MY FAVORITES. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOVIES WHERE YOU GET VERY AGITATED IF ANYONE CALLS YOUR NAME WHILE YOU ARE WATCHING IT, UNITL THE LAST CREDITS HAVE SHOWN AND YOU SUCCESSFULLY HIDE YOUR TEARS. I DOUBT IF ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THIS MOVIE WAS DISAPOINTED AFTERWARDS. IF YOU LIKE THIS JOSEPH MAZELLO MOVIE, YOU WILL LOVE "SIMON BIRCH"-A MOVIE IN THE SAME VAINE AS THIS ONE. GET THE DVD NOW.

This was a film I discovered by accident - and fell in love with. Strong performances all around, and a captivating, yet not too sentimental story line.
But... Why has Universal not bothered to remaster this gem for DVD release? The sound is MONO, and the aspect ratio of the film is 1,33:1. (Full frame, not widescreen.)I know this was not a great commercial success, but I think Universal should have taken more care with this release.

Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park, Simon Birch, The River Wild, Radio Flyer, Three Wishes, Star Kid) stars as 11-year-old Dexter in this wonderful but sad story of a boy who caught AIDS from a blood transfusion. Dexter is shunned by all the children in school and the neighborhood until troubled neighbor Erik, played by Brad Renfro (The Client, Sleepers, Tom and Huck, Apt Pupil, Bully) befriends him - initially as an act of rebellion! But Erik soon becomes devoted to Dexter, leading him down the Mississippi river in search of a cure. What I found most interesting and original about this movie is the notion that Erik was a rebellious kid (in the opening scene he's vandalizing his desk in school), who initially befriends Dexter because that's exactly what everyone - peers and parents - oppose. But the result is one of the most touching friendships in the movies.