Unstrung Heroes (1995)

Synopsis: A boy whose mother gets sick moves in with his uncles.
Appraisal: This is the kind of movie I always thought I hated; I was surprised to find myself liking it. I prefer not to speculate about whether it is based on a true story; there is absolutely no one in my personal life experience remotely like any of these characters, that's for sure. But this may have even worked for the film's advantage since thus I could enjoy it without questioning its realism at every incident. The development of the story is quite engaging, and illustrates the conflict between science and faith, tradition and progress, etc; it also questions the frontiers of normalcy, in a tolerance-promoting way.
Rating: 50
P.S.: Except for the first 15 minutes, I have seen it in a Brazilian dubbed version.