Does Haley Joel Osment have bad agents, bad managers, or just BAD LUCK? For being the most talented and serious boy actor of his cohort, he's managed get into some of the most gawd-awful movies after his attention-attracting debut in "Forrest Gump" and his big splash with "The Sixth Sense." Now here is a film about a Jewish boy sent for refuge to a rural Polish farm community during the Nazi occupation. Masquerading as a devout Catholic, and interacting with numerous persons of various ages who are mostly at best ambivalent about his being there, offered ample opportunities for the exercise and further development of HJO's dramatic acumen. SO WHO DECIDED TO HAVE HIM SPEAK IN THAT FAKE POLISH ACCENT? I'm usually a pretty non-violent person, but whoever it is should be shot. I'm quite sure Poles speak POLISH, at least among themselves, and to make matters worse the Nazi officers speak perfect English. Add to that the inexplicable quirk that this film was never released to theaters in the U.S. and finally came out direct to DVD four years after it was made, and you have the makings of a real jinx. To end on a positive note, there's a nearly unbelievable performance by 9-year-old Liam Hess, who consistently upstages HJO. Well, I guess turnabout is fair play...
