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I Am David

I Am David

Drama · Adventure · 2003

A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.

Movie details

I Am David

“Believe in the power to change your destiny”

2003 Drama · Adventure 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over I Am David?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Pilgrim's Progress

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Into the Wild

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After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

The Shepherd

The Shepherd

Drama · 2023

On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.

The High and the Mighty

The High and the Mighty

Adventure · 1954

Dan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command cockpit assignments he finds himself on a routine Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight - one that takes a terrifying suspense-building turn when disaster strikes high above the Pacific Ocean at the point of no return.

Cave Rescue

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The Darkest Minds

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Starving in Suburbia

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Skin

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Paul Feig

Written by

Paul Feig

Ben Tibber

Ben Tibber

David

Jim Caviezel

Jim Caviezel

Johannes

Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright

Sophie

Hristo Shopov

Hristo Shopov

The Man

Silvia De Santis

Silvia De Santis

Elsa

Paco Reconti

Paco Reconti

Giovanni

Roberto Attias

Roberto Attias

Baker

Court is in session

Put I Am David on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.