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In this movie, Tim Burton returned to his favorite genre of scary tales, and he did it brilliantly. The picture turned out to be rich, bright, exciting, and visually flawless. The grandfather of 16-year-old Jake (Asa Butterfield) died in a very unusual way – he died, obviously pursued by some monster, which led Jake and his parents straight to the psychologist's office. Jake loved his old man very much, and he grew up with the strange tales told by his grandfather, who seemed to have seen many miracles throughout his lifetime. After the frightening and mysterious death of his granddad, Jake went on an island the old man told him about, but instead of the boarding school he expected to see there, the boy found only ruins. However, all fantasy stories become a reality when Jake gets into the days of his grandfather’s youth. At this point, the boy not only needs to understand what happened to the place, but also prevent a terrible catastrophe. It turned out that the orphanage still exists inside a time loop spanning a single day, September 3, 1943, repeating itself over and over again for its inhabitants. Miss Peregrine, the keeper of the place, believes that the children she looks after are too strange for the ordinary world, so it is better for them to stay in their own environment. But Jake is one of these peculiar children. He can live among ordinary people for some time, but he belongs to the world of kids with extraordinary abilities. Some critics may consider this Nazism and racial superiority, but Burton is rather talking about those weirdos who are not too welcomed by the society, that is, about himself. Despite the apparent happy ending, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is one of Burton's saddest and most personal films. The director rides a carousel in an amusement park in a tiny cameo while monsters and skeletons fight under him. This old-fashioned scene neutralizes the horror of what is happening, for a while turning the terrible into funny and insignificant. Of course, you can stay on these merry-go-rounds next to eternity forever. But, perhaps, it's time to grow up and bring your weirdness into the present – where everyone really needs it.

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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
2016

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