Description

A powerful tale of a rural Texas family divided by a bullying father?and a long unsolved murder. Year: 1998Director: Antonio Tibaldi Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Nastassja Kinski, John Savage ... Read more

Reviews (32)

A Mystery Thriller that is Both Bizarre and Disturbing
This is not my first choice when selecting a movie and I honestly purchased it because it was a super deal and on the cover it featured (heartthrob) Ryan Phillipe (more famous for his roles in the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" series and "54").  This is an unusual and troubling film.   The story is set in modern day rural Texas.  It follows the very dysfunctional lives of the West family.  Mom & Dad own and operate a small town bar.  The family history is deep and haunting and the movie leaves you in shadows as you try to piece together this emotional drama.  If I told you too many secrets, it would take away from the suspense and surprise of the movie.  I will say it is quite violent and/or sexual at times and it does not end on a happy "Brady Bunch" style note.   The story and acting is good, but the plot and suspense is excellent.  Hence I rated the film a 4.  It won several awards at smaller film festivals.  Although I have not seen "American Beauty" yet, I am thinking "Little Boy Blue" is somewhat similar in it's dysfunction, only "American Beauty" had more money to throw at the film.  Isn't Hollywood great?  "Little Boy Blue" also stars Nastassja Kinski and features 2 fine young actors playing the part of Jimmy's (Ryan Phillipe) siblings.   What is most disturbing about this movie, is that it could be based on a true story of dysfunction in America.

A Mystery Thriller that is both bizarre and disturbing
This is not my first choice when selecting a movie and I honestly purchased it because it was a super deal and on the cover it featured (heartthrob) Ryan Phillipe (more famous for his roles in the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" series and "54").  This is an unusual and troubling film.   The story is set in modern day rural Texas.  It follows the very dysfunctional lives of the West family.  Mom & Dad own and operate a small town bar.  The family history is deep and haunting and the movie leaves you in shadows as you try to piece together this emotional drama.  If I told you too many secrets, it would take away from the suspense and surprise of the movie.  I will say it is quite violent and/or sexual at times and it does not end on a happy "Brady Bunch" style note.   The story and acting is good, but the plot and suspense is excellent.  Hence I rated the film a 4.  It won several awards at smaller film festivals.  Although I have not seen "American Beauty" yet, I am thinking "Little Boy Blue" is somewhat similar in it's dysfunction, only "American Beauty" had more money to throw at the film.  Isn't Hollywood great?  "Little Boy Blue" also stars Nastassja Kinski and features 2 fine young actors playing the part of Jimmy's (Ryan Phillipe) siblings.   What is most disturbing about this movie, is that it could be based on a true story of dysfunction in America.

All in the Family
This mildly engaging indie drama presents an intriguing mood and a couple of good performances, still as a whole it doesn`t work very well. Antonio Tibaldi directs this story about a dysfunctional family and its secrets, particularly Jimmy`s past, AKA "Little Boy Blue" (played by Ryan Phillippe). Despite the mysterious tone of the film, which offers some surprises along the way, this is an average effort overall, since the pacing is too slow at parts and the ending isn`t too satisfying. The acting is convincing, though (John Savage, Natassja Kinski), so this offbeat coming-of-age tale still deserves a watch.

Not bad but not good enough either.

noooooo, my brothers are my sons damnit
shocking and powerful piece. Phillippe is the son of Nastassja Kinski and John Savage(who is Savage in this movie). Savage is Phillippes abusive father. starts good and ends with a bang, well two bangs. and one of the bangs shouldnt of been in there, where Kinski gets shot. the story goes that Savage stold Phillippe when he was a baby and killed his real father and raped his real mother, his real mother finds this out and comes for some, well, revenge. Phillippe also finds out that his brothers are his sons and his mother is the one who he had sex with, whoa!!!! and then Phillippe suddenly vanishes. his real mom comes and kills Savage and then Kinski(whyyy!!!) and then shes shot down by Phillippes buddy cop. they find Phillippe under ground tied up from his fake father. Phillippe delivers one of his best.

Phillippe's breakthrough
Not to downplay the greatness of this film, as it truly is an amazing (though disturbing) movie, but I felt a short review on Phillipe's performance was in order.

Ryan Phillipe is most popularly known as the heartthrob character from I Know What You Did Last Summer, 54, and especially Cruel Intentions. When watching this movie I was particularly impressed by Phillipe as I feel this is his break-through role. Many of the characters he plays express similiar emotions and demeanor, but this one is far far different. If you have doubted Phillipe's acting talent at any time, this is a movie to see. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great atmospheric movie.
I don't know much about Schizophrenia so I wouldn't know if this movie is on the ball about this disease.I actually think that this movie is more about loss than about Schizophrenia itself.It's nice to have a movie where the disease is not the main character.

I especially appreciate that we are not made to suffer through one of those tear-jerker "I want my Oscar"performances that I have come to link with movies about major diseases.Instead, we see the impact of the disease on the people that are close to the sufferer.

The acting is superb.I am a long time Judy Davis fan and I would gladly pay to see her read from the phonebook.
I was blown away by Matthew Ferguson's performance, especially the scene when he gets mad at his father.The support cast was great as well.

I agree with the comment that was made about the homosexual scene not being fully explored,I was also a bit disappointed that the character did not get a payoff at the end [SPOILER]by "getting" the girl,who is obviously the reason why he is going to this party.Yet, the fact that there is no romantic payoff for the main character makes this movie stand out from the usual" coming of age" Hollywood movies where "Coming Of Age" is really about the first word in the sentence.

I thought that the physical coldness of the surroundings ( Canadian Winter ) and the emotional coldness of the father figures ( Father and Faculty) really underlined the fact that in our day and age,becoming a man in Western society means to distance oneself from feelings.I don't know if that was the director's intention but I thought of this movie as a beautiful reflection about the passage into manhood and the challenges of dealing with the loss of maternal love,through voluntary or, in this case, involuntary separation from the mother.

you say obscure, I say incoherent
If there is some point to director Antonio Tibaldi's film, which he cowrote with Gill Denniss and John Frizzell, then it is beyond my comprehension. As a student at a Canadian private boys school, Matthew Ferguson seems like an average healthy child, so when we hear his mother is a schizophrenic, our expectations are raised. Ferguson's father has divorced and remarried, so we assume the schizophrenia is the cause, but in spite of Judy Davis as the mother providing some murky undertones, we don't really see any change in the son. Yes, he has a nightmare about the stereotypical asylum he associates with his mother, but he also dreams of a friend's girlfriend. Even when Davis visits Ferguson and they spend a night together, nothing radical happens. In a scene with his father, Ferguson is unafraid to express his anger and he acts the same way with Davis, so Tibaldi's vague notion of Davis' illness somehow being passed on to her son has no credibility. For a schizophrenic, Davis seems remarkably well, understandably emotional on seeing her son, but hardly belonging in that nightmare asylum. The climactic news seems ridiculous, almost the act of desperate screenwriters, and the symbolic conclusion unjustified. One scene where Ferguson, his friend and the girlfriend all dance together, each touching each other, I was hoping would lead to something. Although having his own gang, we presume that Ferguson's friendship with this new boy based on their shared love of soccer has deeper significance, but as in the dance scene, there is no payoff. The boy lingers around Ferguson, and though I knew in my heart that a homosexual relationship wasn't to be, even when the girlfriend expresses mixed feelings about the boy which undermine us seeing him as a stud, things are left unresolved, unexplained, indicative of the film as a whole. I only wish I had got as much out of the experience as Leonard Maltin, who's response is frankly inexplicable. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Unless your a huge Christina fan don't bother
Christina Applegate did a great job with a very bad script. It's obvious that she is a great actress. However, it doesn't make up for the movie all together. If it wasn't for her performance, I would rate this one a zero. The other actors missed there marks all through the film. A film school student could have done a better job directing this film. It would be nice to see Christina in a real movie.

I never knew Christina had the potential
The first thing that shocked me about "Kiss of Fire" was Christina Applegate's performance. I mean, WOW. She just MADE this movie.

The storyline was actually very strong. The director handled it well. Claudine (Applegate), a beautiful free-spirited young woman, is desperately trying to escape her awful past. She is a laundry girl by day and an exotic dancer by night. When claudine meets Stephano (Dionisi), a man who changes her life, she learns about real love and decides to confront the secrets that haunt her. Everything seems wonderful...but all good things usually come to an end.

"Kiss of Fire" is powerful, captivating, and intensely riveting.
A truly beautiful film.

I searched and searched and searched and FINALLY found it on DVD. It only includes a chapter selection (1-29) and captions (english subtitles or none). The main menu has a gorgeous picture of Christina Applegate on it with some fireworks in the background.

If you've seen "Kiss of Fire" and you're looking for the DVD, I found mine at the Virgin Mega Store in Westside Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL. Well, that's only if you live near there or are planning to go there. ...

Beautiful film... Great for Christina Applegate fans
I bought this DVD because I am a HUGE fan of Christina Applegate, and it was well worth the price. The film is really beautiful, but the standout thing here is Christina's performance. She does an amazing job as Claudine, a woman trying to escape her past. Now, we come to one of the reasons I gave the film four stars: What past was Claudine trying to escape? That was never really said in the movie, and it would have been better if it was. Claudine is a laundry-girl by day and exotic dancer by night. Christina has a really good dance sequence early in the film. A young Italian man, Stefano, begins to work at the inn that Claudine works at during the day, and he goes to the club where she dances one night. Claudine and Stefano form a relationship, but problems come along, and their relationship is tested. This is a very dramatic, dark movie, and it makes me sad every time I Watch it, but sad in a good way. Christina proves here that she really is one of the best actresses of this generation (one of the best ever, in my opinion). I would reccomend this film to anyone who wants to see a beautiful drama, or anyone who likes Christina. In the end, there are a few questions that the viewer will have, though. I found that watching it a second time helped me understand, and I noticed a lot of things that I missed the first time, but that is another reason I gave it four stars, because there are still a few unanswered questions in the end.

Dull
I have no idea what was the point of making this move at all, so there is not much I can say.
I have to congratulate though, the marketing agent or whoever was behind the making of the cover, because it leads you to believe that this could be a somewhat sexy movie, with some "sexy" scene with Christina Applegate, well nothing like that....
If you want to see a fun movie with ther, rent or buy, the sweetest thing, possibly the unrated version.

Never Judge a DVD By It's Cover
Alright guys, let me save you some money. Christina Applegate is not naked in this movie. Thank you. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Unless your a huge Christina fan don't bother
Christina Applegate did a great job with a very bad script. It's obvious that she is a great actress. However, it doesn't make up for the movie all together. If it wasn't for her performance, I would rate this one a zero. The other actors missed there marks all through the film. A film school student could have done a better job directing this film. It would be nice to see Christina in a real movie.

I never knew Christina had the potential
The first thing that shocked me about "Kiss of Fire" was Christina Applegate's performance. I mean, WOW. She just MADE this movie.

The storyline was actually very strong. The director handled it well. Claudine (Applegate), a beautiful free-spirited young woman, is desperately trying to escape her awful past. She is a laundry girl by day and an exotic dancer by night. When claudine meets Stephano (Dionisi), a man who changes her life, she learns about real love and decides to confront the secrets that haunt her. Everything seems wonderful...but all good things usually come to an end.

"Kiss of Fire" is powerful, captivating, and intensely riveting.
A truly beautiful film.

I searched and searched and searched and FINALLY found it on DVD. It only includes a chapter selection (1-29) and captions (english subtitles or none). The main menu has a gorgeous picture of Christina Applegate on it with some fireworks in the background.

If you've seen "Kiss of Fire" and you're looking for the DVD, I found mine at the Virgin Mega Store in Westside Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL. Well, that's only if you live near there or are planning to go there. ...

Beautiful film... Great for Christina Applegate fans
I bought this DVD because I am a HUGE fan of Christina Applegate, and it was well worth the price. The film is really beautiful, but the standout thing here is Christina's performance. She does an amazing job as Claudine, a woman trying to escape her past. Now, we come to one of the reasons I gave the film four stars: What past was Claudine trying to escape? That was never really said in the movie, and it would have been better if it was. Claudine is a laundry-girl by day and exotic dancer by night. Christina has a really good dance sequence early in the film. A young Italian man, Stefano, begins to work at the inn that Claudine works at during the day, and he goes to the club where she dances one night. Claudine and Stefano form a relationship, but problems come along, and their relationship is tested. This is a very dramatic, dark movie, and it makes me sad every time I Watch it, but sad in a good way. Christina proves here that she really is one of the best actresses of this generation (one of the best ever, in my opinion). I would reccomend this film to anyone who wants to see a beautiful drama, or anyone who likes Christina. In the end, there are a few questions that the viewer will have, though. I found that watching it a second time helped me understand, and I noticed a lot of things that I missed the first time, but that is another reason I gave it four stars, because there are still a few unanswered questions in the end.

Dull
I have no idea what was the point of making this move at all, so there is not much I can say.
I have to congratulate though, the marketing agent or whoever was behind the making of the cover, because it leads you to believe that this could be a somewhat sexy movie, with some "sexy" scene with Christina Applegate, well nothing like that....
If you want to see a fun movie with ther, rent or buy, the sweetest thing, possibly the unrated version.

Never Judge a DVD By It's Cover
Alright guys, let me save you some money. Christina Applegate is not naked in this movie. Thank you. ... Read more