Malta Independent

BFG

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In the middle of the night, when every child and every grown-up is in a deep, deep sleep, all the dark things come out of hiding and have the world to themselves. That’s what Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old, has been told, and that’s what she believes as she lies sleepless in her own bed at her London orphanage. While all the other girls in the dormitory dream their dreams, Sophie risks breaking one of Mrs. Clonkers’ many rules to climb out of her bed, slip on her glasses, lean out the window and see what the world looks like in the moonlit silence of the witching hour. Outside, in the ghostly, silvery light, her familiar street looks more like a fairy tale

village than the one she knows, and out of the darkness comes something long and tall… very, very tall. That something is a giant who takes Sophie and whisks her away to his home in a land far, far away. Fortunatel­y for Sophie, he is the Big Friendly Giant (BFG) and nothing like the other inhabitant­s of Giant Country. Standing 24- feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, the BFG is endearingl­y dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. His brothers are twice as big and at least twice as scary, and have been known to eat humans, but the BFG is a vegetarian and makes do with a disgusting vegetable called Snozz cumber.

Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie is initially frightened of the mysterious giant, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and since she has never met a giant before, she is full of questions. BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams. With each having been on their own in the world up until now, an unexpected friendship blossoms. But Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasing­ly more bothersome. Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see The Queen and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince her that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.

Amblin Entertainm­ent, in associatio­n with Walden Media, presents the fantasy adventure film “The BFG,” the first-ever motion picture adaptation of Roald Dahl’s resonant tale of childhood, the magic of dreams and the extraordin­ary friendship between a young girl and a big friendly giant. Directed by three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, the film reunites the director with his Oscar-nominated collaborat­or on “E.T. the Extra-Terrestria­l,” Melissa Mathison, who adapted the children’s author’s timeless adventure for the big screen. “The BFG” is produced by Spielberg, p.g.a., Frank Marshall, p.g.a., and Sam Mercer, p.g.a., with Kathleen Kennedy, John Madden, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Michael Siegel serving as executive producers.

The film stars three-time Tony Award, two-time Olivier Award and Oscar winner Mark Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant; newcomer Ruby Barnhill as Sophie, the orphan who befriends him and is swept into a world of rampaging giants; Penelope Wilton as The Queen; Jemaine Clement as Fleshlumpe­ater, the most fearsome giant from Giant Country; Rebecca Hall as Mary, The Queen’s handmaid; Rafe Spall as Mr. Tibbs, The Queen’s butler; and Bill Hader as Bloodbottl­er, another unruly giant from Giant Country.

Classifica­tion PG

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