Last night we escaped again to the film festival at the Kabuki.
Who hasn’t dreamed of escaping? For most of us it’s probably from the city, but for Kylie and Dylan, the child stars of Kisses, it’s Dublin that calls to them. We’ve been asked not to give away too much from the film, so we won’t divulge any specifics about the adventures of the ten-year-olds seeking refuge from the realities of their abusive families in the sometimes bright, sometimes gloomy, and many times seedy alleys of Dublin.
There were indeed a couple busker scenes in Kisses where we expected Glen Hansard from Once (one of our favorite all-time films and a past festival highlight) to pop up, but Director Lance Daly assured the audience at the post-film Q&A that he actually trimmed additional busker scenes from the film to avoid any similarities.
Daly admitted that he intended Kisses to be something that audiences not only saw but felt, and that was obvious. There were a few times we felt like the film went a bit too far in its efforts to conjure up emotions, but Kylie and Dylan were just too genuinely likable – so ultimately it wasn’t too big a downfall.
According to Daly, Kelly O’Neill, who played Kylie in the film, was only ten-years-old, herself at the time she auditioned. Along with Shane Curry (Dylan), O’Neill was selected not for her efforts or easygoing nature, but largely based on her spunk and fearlessness. Upon auditioning, she secured her place in the film when she confidently seated herself in the director’s chair, and immediately began lifting cushions in a successful search for loose change.
Kisses, which was recently acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories, founded by Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch, will be in the theaters here later in 2009.
