“ BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA”

It is a film based on the novel of the same name written by Katherine Paterson in 1976.
Jess Aarons is a 12-year-old boy who lives in the American countryside with his parents and four sisters.
He has a great artistic talent and a strong love of nature, but he is a lonely and bullied kid at school.
His life changes when a new classmate, Leslie Burhe, arrives in class.
At first they are in competition but then they become best friends.
Together every afternoon they explore the woods and playfully invent the enchanted world “Terabithia” in which they are the king and queen and imagine having fantastic adventures and fighting against imaginary evil creatures (similar to school bullies).
One day Jess prefers to go to the museum with his teacher and doesn’t say anything to his friend.
Leslie goes into the woods alone and dies by drowning in the river following a fall.
As soon as he hears the news, Jess feels guilty, but is able to react to the pain thanks to the affection of the people around him.
He builds a bridge to reach Terabithia and crowns his little sister Maybelle as the new queen.
It is a sad story that makes me reflect on some aspects ​​of life: bullying, friendship, fear, the fantasies of adolescence and death.
The city of Terabithia exists in the mind and soul of the two protagonists, who do not want to accept the wickedness of everyday life, so they take refuge in their fantastic world.
Often the power of the imagination helps to defeat real monsters and fears.
But this journey into the imagination suddenly comes to an abrupt halt due to a real fact: the girl’s death.
It is difficult to understand the death of a loved one and to mourn, especially when you are young, because it is difficult to accept it.
But the end of the film offers us hope: life goes on and the love and affection of the people around us help us to overcome all pain.
It is a fanciful and melancholy film, a beautiful story that I would like to watch again.