Absolutely Fantastic

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This film is fantastic. The director has a wonderful imagination. Hayden Panettiere is so cute and boy can she act. Ryan Kelley is also fantastic, but i think Hayden steals the show as Melanie. The story line is a bit slow to start with, but if you keep on watching the film, you will fall in love with Hayden and the way she smiles. The only bit that i don't understand is when the Ringmaster walks over and grabs onto Ryan and tries to take him back to his house. The grandfather is superb. He is so informative. Even though he played a man with Altzheimerz disease, he is well read. Hayden P. is so hot, i would like to meet her, but if i can't get to Hollywood, i hope she could come to Australia to shoot a film.

I love this film.. For one, it's a family/drama film. Well I first saw this "awesome" movie when it first cam out in 04, and I think it was a great adventure kind of movie. Ryan Kelley,(one of my favorite actors)(also so cute) did an great performance as Ryan the boy who is mute.Ryan playing a mute teen (at first in the film), was so impressive. He made me think for a sec, that he was mute. So I think he did a great acting job for this film. Hayden was also a great actor in this film. She gave a performance as a "Peter Pan" girl.She was very spunky and adventures, her betrayal, made me want to be like her charter. Overall this film takes you where you never been before and it's a different kind of magical film. This film is great for the hole familylove it

Contrary to popular belief, films do not have to be dumbed-down for children. Much of the pleasure they get comes from puzzling out complex plot developments and recognizing subtle details. And there is actually a small sub-genre of children's films (mostly independents) that challenge young viewers to use their imaginations and film viewing skills. "The Dust Closet" joins "An Angel for May" and "Restless Spirits" as the best recent examples of this type of film. These films have a hidden depth to their story and storytelling technique that will interest even the most sophisticated viewer-provided that they retain at least some of their childhood capacity for wonder. The weak vote count probably reflects viewers unable or unwilling to deal with a film that requires some mental energy and a few functioning brain cells.Ryan Flynn (Ryan Kelley) is a teenager who has refused to speak since seeing his father killed at a train crossing. Ryan's father died when Ryan was nine years old, but not before he passed on a passion for astronomy to his son. But now Ryan is having trouble connecting with astronomy, symbolized by his inability to find the man in the moon his father drew for him. Like an impressionist painting, the moonscape becomes meaningless when viewed close up through his new telescope. Ryan's family takes care of his grandfather (Mueller-Stahl), but Ryan barely knows him because he has had Alzheimer's for a number of years. Ryan hangs out with his best friend Rocky (Michael Angarano), and they communicate fine nonverbally. Rocky does not question Ryan's silence-he just accepts it. Things dramatically change one day when Ryan falls off a bridge and into a lake while roller-blading. When he surfaces Rocky is gone and everything is a little off-kilter. His grandfather is completely recovered and living alone it their house, which was his originally. They have meaningful conversations and his grandfather tries to pass on advice on how to get the most out of life. Ryan meets a pretty girl his own age named Melanie (Hayden Panettiere) who can ice skate on the surface of the lake-even though to Ryan it is summer and the lake is not frozen. The story is basically told from Ryan's point of view and we learn along with him that this new reality is a place called "The Dust Factory". The film is an allegory (the expression by symbolic means of generalizations about human existence) about the process of living; much like "Groundhog Day". The idea is that most of us just go through the motions of living (each day is just a repeat of the day before). The themes are basically the same, the importance of having the courage to live life to the fullest and to get the most out of each day. "Groundhog Day" illustrated this by having one day keep repeating itself for the main character . "The Dust Factory" does it by creating a symbolic place between life and death. This place is populated by all those in a coma state, their bodies are alive but their conscious mind is no longer functioning. These people are allegorical and meant to symbolize those who are not living a full life. The circus ring is the point where people finally decide whether to get on with living or to get on with dying (a line borrowed from "Shawshank Redemption"). Either choice is a valid alternative depending mostly on what stage you are at in your life (the grandfather chooses death-the teenagers choose to live for a while longer). The wrong thing is being stuck there in limbo, afraid to risk it in the circus ring. Such people are called dawdlers and symbolize the day-to-day existence of many people. But "The Dust Factory" is also a place where people can pull back and take an objective and distanced look at their lives; seeing things from this perspective allows them to recognize things (like the man in the moon) they were too close to see before (can't see the forest for the trees). Those who come back have no conscious memory of the place (they have been dreaming while in a coma) but subconsciously retain things they have learned; like the Grandfather's advice to not forget that you are on a quest for paradise, and that a fear of dying or hurting keeps you from letting go of security and really living. It takes some work to sort this film out and it probably should be viewed several times because it withholds a lot of its pleasure from the first viewing. The cast does a first-rate job. Panettiere is unexpectedly effective. In her prior film work, her extreme self-assurance overwhelms the character she is playing and works against her performances. Here she plays someone who uses a cocky attitude to hide her fear and insecurity. This multi- dimensionality connects with viewers who then relate to the protectiveness Ryan develops toward Melanie. The movie goes out on a painfully sappy duet "Someone Like You," performed by Panettiere and Kelley (she can sing-he cannot). My advice would be to hit the off button very early in the closing credits.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I thought this movie was very good. It is kind of like a movie about choices and also about faith. It kept saying that we need faith in order to make the choices that could change the lives of a lot of other people. Also the way Hayden's character didn't know what to do while she was in the Dust Factory. I must say that this movie was very inspirational and it helped me figure out a lot of things in my life. The people who say this movie is lame or boring or stupid for any reason don't know what good movies are. Just because it doesn't have exploding cars or big romantic love scenes doesn't mean it is a stupid movie. For being a family film it was sure sweet and had a very deep meaning. I really enjoy movies that I have to watch more than once to understand the meaning. I just have to conclude by saying that although not my favorite movie it is sure up there on the top ten list.