Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987) User Reviews

An interesting mix of talent...

[atrac · 6/10 · 15 November 2001]

I encountered this film in a very strange way...by catching the end credits of it while switching channels. The song, "Mio My Mio" by Gemini was playing and it immediately caught my ear. It's a wonderful song and I decided that I wanted to hear it again. I rented the movie and was pleasantly surprised to find Christian Bale in one of his early roles. Being a big ABBA fan, I was even more shocked to discover that the music was written by Benny Andersson and Anders Eljas, two former ABBA orchestrators. Being a visual effects fan, I was then stunned to see that famed James Bond EFX Artist Derek Meddings was responsible for the film's optical effects. I was quite thrilled to learn of this small film with big talent involved.

Overall, the film is above average. It has some nice fantasy moments, some good effects (and some not so good). Easily though, the film is worth viewing for Christian Bale and the musical score. And now I know that while I used to sing "Mio My Mio," to be truly accurate, I need to modify that to "Mio Min Mio!"

The only "uncomfortable" factor in this film is Timothy Bottoms. His performance, credited as "The King," would be more aptly classified as "The Queen."

Now, if only there was an original soundtrack release in the United States of this film's magical score!

Mio in the Land of Faraway

[Atreyu_II · 7/10 · 19 February 2011]

This largely unknown film is okay, although flawed. Has influences from several countries, as it isn't a one-nationality movie, which makes it a mix of cultures and film-making (for good and for bad). Not just this, it also heavily "drank" inspiration from other fantasy movies in details.

This is one of those films that make me wanna be taken to a world of fantasy, especially now when things only get worst every year. If that could be possible, that would be an excellent escape from reality. I am pretty sick of reality and probably many of us are.

The cinematography is astonishing and so is the pan flute music (including a song which was composed by ABBA's former members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus - 'Mio my Mio', performed by the Swedish band Gemini).

As it was said in another review, the film doesn't deliver a lot of action, but to compensate it offers decent amounts of adventure, although without being too intense or exciting. The main villain is creepy and so are his intentions and way of talking. But he doesn't have that much of a role, so he ends up seeming less scary that he is.

Nicholas Pickard and Christian Bale steal the show as the main actors, both in double roles, but still Christian Bale is the best of the two. Nicholas Pickard is not a familiar name to most (myself included). However, Christian Bale soon would become a famous and highly praised actor. Christian Bale starred in 'Empire of the Sun' in the same year as this (1987) and that was when he began to draw attentions from the public and press thanks to his amazing performance. He grew up to be a successful adult with a successful career, even if he's not as good as he was when younger.

In each of the two roles played by these boys, they are good friends. Actually, their friendship is very sincere and humble. They have mutual respect and help each other. Whatever happened to friendships like this these days, when everything is so changed for worst that almost nothing seems to make sense any longer?

Meh.

[Kdragoneye · 6/10 · 22 November 2003]

When I saw this film when I was but a little girl, I loved it. I loved the music (and still do), I loved the characters, everything about it. I re-watched it yesterday (I'm now fourteen), and all I could say was "Meh."

It certainly isn't great, but it still has a feeling to it that I adore. The special effects are shabby, the script is a little off and trite and the lack of logic bothers me. But it's still a nice film that's worth watching. But if you can, watch the Swedish dub. It makes it more logical then.

Read the book and later watch the movie

[rblaurelin · 17 March 2004]

!Attention! Spoilers in this post!

Mio - my Mio, is the story of the desperate dream-wish of a little boy (Bosse/Mio) who wants to flee from a life where his foster parents (which he calls aunt and uncle and who only took him because when they wanted to get a child at the orphanage, there was no girl to be had) make him feel how little he is loved in this world. Therefore he starts dreaming of his unknown father in a far away country, who - of course - is a king and does all the things together with him that a truly loving father should do. Life isn't safe even in this dream/wish-land and the eternal fight of good versus evil must also be fought here. Bosse/Mio can show that he is a special person and can do good things, like safe the world from a dangerous dark Knight. Some people accuse this story of a lame plot... maybe the film should have made it clearer that this in fact is a heartbreaking story, a small boy dreams himself away to a place where he is loved and valued.

I know the book much better than the movie, but I've seen it of course, like many others I like the music, but other than many, I liked (or didn't mind) how the story was acted out... it is an unreal place, the dialogue is a bit stilted but that's how I feel it's like: heroic, longing dreams of a little boy!

MIO IN THE LAND OF FARAWAY (Vladimir Grammatikov, 1987) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 18 July 2015]

Based on the children's classic by Astrid Lindgren, this was obviously intended as the Swedish reply to the international commercial success enjoyed by West Germany with THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984); the result proved nowhere near as effective and, if the film is remembered today, this is chiefly due to the presence of Christopher Lee (naturally, as the villain of the piece) and the very young Christian Bale playing the titular hero's sidekick in his screen debut.

As with the afore-mentioned Wolfgang Petersen fantasy, this starts out in modern times – with the protagonist bullied by his peers and unloved even by his (adopted) family. Seeking his wanderer dad, he is transported to a fairy-tale landscape and finds that here he is the King (Timothy Bottoms), and his own name has been changed from Bosse to Mio; likewise, the boy's only chum (Bale) is called Benke in our age and Jum-Jum in the Land of Faraway. A legend concerning a king's son defeating the evil knight Kato (Lee, sporting an iron claw and, literally, a heart of stone) – who abducts the children of the realm and, for no discernible reason, transforms them into birds – is expected to be fulfilled upon Mio's arrival. Typically, a number of characters come into play during the journey either to help, hinder or assail our young adventurers; indeed, before departing, he is given a sword capable of cutting through both steel and stone and a magical coat that allows him to become invisible simply by wearing it inside out – the latter is provided by weaver Susannah York. For the record, despite their above-title credit, both York's and Bottoms' contributions are negligible at best.

Oddly enough, there is barely any action prior to the last half-hour of the 99-minute film – when the two boys are imprisoned but escape soon after and Mio confronts Kato, who is turned wholly to stone upon being run through with the hero's sword. Ultimately, the film makes for harmless and reasonably pleasant-looking viewing – and, while its artistic potential comes up lacking compared to other contemporaneous Hollywood efforts of its ilk (such as LADYHAWKE {1985} and WILLOW {1988}), the producers certainly left nothing to chance by commissioning two former members of the hugely popular Swedish pop group ABBA to compose the title tune!

Fairy tale for young kids

[Andreas_N · 7/10 · 23 November 2005]

I think this movie is more or less for younger kids. Yeah, I watched and enjoyed it, but it is filled with very simple and sometimes corny elements and sequences that were a bit too modest for me. The two actors were great though, their performances were definitely okay. I like Christian Bale a lot and - to be honest - bought this one just because he is in it. Nicholas Pickard was genuine and smart as well. Again, I just felt a bit too old for it, I thought it was presented like a fairy tale. The setting was still okay and the underlying themes are wonderful (father-son, friendship, courage, love etc). I give it a 7 because of its unusual but fine approach and as it does fulfil its basic premise, which is to entertain kids between 5 and 10.

Supposedly inspired by a sad looking boy sitting on a bench.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 26 April 2024]

"Mio in the Land of Faraway" is a book from Astrid Lindgren, the same writer of the Pippi Longstockings books. She was inspired to write the story after reportedly seeing a lonely and sad looking boy sitting alone on a bench. The story is her imagining adventures for the sad boy as well as a happy ending.

The film itself is unusual in that it's a Norwegian/Soviet/Swedish co-production. What makes it even stranger is that many of the leads are either British or American! And, the movie was filmed mostly in the Ukraine but also in Scotland and Sweden.

The story of Nicholas is indeed sad. He's an orphan who is adopted by a cold, uncaring woman. Why she adopted him in the first place is confusing...especially since she spends much of her time telling the boy how worthless he is. However, the boy has adventures ahead of him...and a huge floating head comes for him on that bench and takes him to a faraway land. There, the boy meets the King...who turns out to be his real father and tells Nicholas that his real name is Mio.

A short time later, Mio and his friend Jum-Jum (Christian Bale) leave the comfort of the King and his castle in search of adventure...along with the beautiful horse his father gave him. This takes him to a land where the evil Kato (Christopher Lee) rules and keeps children in cages. Along the way, he meets others who help him in his adventure. Can the boy manage to beat Kato or will he, too, end up in a cage along with Jum-Jum?

How much you enjoy this film is doubtlessly related to your age. It's designed for kids...and I do think most older kids (7-12) would enjoy it quite a bit. Younger ones won't so much be upset to watch it (though it can be a bit scary and I would not have young kids watch it alone) but I cannot imagine their attention spans holding up for such a film. As far as adults who watch it with their kids go, it's not terrible and they should be able to enjoy the story...just not as much as their kids!

Overall, the film has very good production values, very good special effects for 1987 (don't expect perfection here...as computer generated effects just didn't exist much at that time). The story is decent and the acting pretty good. I did not love this story...but I'm also a guy in my 50s and think you should consider this. But I didn't dislike it and the story was engaging, if a bit dark.

My childhood

[venkman00 · 5/10 · 2 April 2016]

It is terrible, but I love this movie. Nothing really makes sense and you really have to stretch your suspension of disbelief. Nice to see a young Christian Bale on screen with Christopher Lee.

Boy inexplicably is carried to the Land of Faraway by a giant floating head, meets his "missing" father and finds out he is royalty.

He immediately takes it upon himself, like within a day, to defeat the local bad guy. With no training whatsoever and a huge sense of self importance, he and his best friend (who has a full bed in the middle of a garden for some reason) take off. And his dad allows it, for some reason.

Somehow, he manages to survive this ordeal and best a knight who has YEARS of experience (people upset that Rey could hold her own against Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens should use this film to gain some perspective)

Boy goes home a hero and adored by all. I think he does this all within two days of arriving in the land of faraway.

Believe it or not, I do adore this film. Grew up with it. It has more logic holes than a slice of swiss cheese, but its fun.

One of my All-time Faves!

[MerianMoriarty · 10/10 · 21 June 2004]

I first saw this film when my mother bought it on VHS in a store... I think I was about seven. I loved it from the moment I first watched it, and even now, at nineteen, it's still one of my favorite movies.

Now, I realize the effects aren't that great and the ADR is horrible--but as fairytales go, it's among the best. I found the plot to be better translated to film than that of The Neverending Story (which is one of my favorite books--but not one of my favorite movies), and the music is wonderful. Watching the movie was very reminiscent to reading The Chronicles of Narnia, or in fact reading a British translation of Astrid Lindgren's book.

This is still my favorite of Christian Bale's many roles, and among my favorite Christopher Lee roles (the man has over 700, so it's hard to pick faves sometimes ^_^).

A classic for children and families, I must say. (And coming from a cynical college student, that's saying something!)

Read the book instead

[Filmgalen · 1/10 · 22 March 2006]

I was 9 years old when this piece of crap was released at the theaters in Sweden. I loved the book and I still cannot believe that Astrid Lindgren sold the rights to these filmmakers (she later made the same mistake with the animated Pippi Longstocking). Several of her books had already been adapted to TV and cinema prior to this, with Swedish directors, screen-writers and actors. All of those adaptations are far superior to this one. This is just stupid and has lost all the subtle nuances, the moods and the atmosphere of the book. I remember realizing this at the age of 9, and that should give you an idea about how stupid this movie is. As for the music that everyone seems to love...IT IS PURE CRAP. Panflute player Dana Dragomir is one of the cheesiest musicians I know of, and the music is just a sweet, sugary mess. These are thoughts I also remember having in 1987. Horrible. Please, remake! Why not animated by Miyazaki, who is a big fan of Lindgren, and one of the few who seem to understand that less is always more. And please, everyone read the book instead of seeing the movie. This might be one of the worst adaptations of all time!

Magical movie, great for children

[toast-15 · 10/10 · 26 June 2000]

I loved this movie. We were lucky enough to find it years ago as a rental. This is a wonderful story about a little boy who is bullied by his peers and hated by his aunt. He is magically transported by a large head emanating from a bottle, no less, to a "land of faraway" where he discovers that he is a prince. He gets hold of a magic cape that makes him invisible along with other magical items like magical bread. He, and another child fight the dreaded evil lord who is turning the children into birds that must forever circle the castle. This is a wonderful movie that is completely overlooked. My kids loved it and so did I. (We couldn't stop laughing during the giant head part!) There are so many magical moments in this story. Don't miss it!

The worst film ever?

[mike_wiensteen · 1/10 · 25 February 2003]

I was trying to compose a list of the ten worst films ever for my school newspaper. My list was composed of the usual films (i.e. Battle Field Earth, etc.). But it was when my friend gave me this film that I was forced to rethink my existance. This film is terrible. Never in my life have I ever heard such terrible dialogue as "Who did this...no...don't tell me. I know. I have known all along." This trite and painful story is not even worthy of the boys from MST3K! Avoid this film at all costs! So to answer the question, it was at number three.

A Swedish classic!

[[e-mail] · 31 December 2002]

I have seen this movie and I have read the book by the swedish wrighter Astrid Lindgren. I think this is a fantastic story and I love it. The novel is one of the biggest children storys in Sweden and it's so good. But I think it's very bad that this movie is made in England and is dubbed to swedish. I think we sweds must think on to make an one movie with swedish actors this is a swedish classic novel and I must think that it skould bee a swedish warriation of this movie.

The only thing that saved this movie was the cute little Christian Bale

[kassisme · 1/10 · 6 August 2001]

Overall this movie had bad writing and cheap sets. Christian Bale was adorable, though. That was the only plus in this movie. It seems to drag on with it's dry, dull writing. As much as I adore Christian Bale, it was still hard to watch because it was pretty much, a boring movie. Very small children may like this movie, but those over age 8 will most likely be bored.

Wonderful film, wonderful music

[wayne-2 · 10/10 · 4 January 2001]

As a 40 year-old man, childrens fantasy films usually aren't my first (or even second) choice of movies. I ran across this film on Disney years ago, and videotaped it. It is a good escape to childhood fantasies (especially from someone who had a rough childhood and who often wished something like this would have happened for real!) I loved the music also. If you have kids and see this one, grab it. If you had a childhood you longed to escape from, see it, too. The production values were excellent, also.

Loved this as a child

[Sparrow_in_flight · 10/10 · 27 January 2004]

But I haven't been able to find it since I was about ten years old, which was eight years ago. Still, I remember that I was awed by the invisibility cloak, have the "Mio, my Mio" tune stuck in my head now in then - the one that gets played on the pipes sticks there too at times - and frightened by the ending battle scene. and children being turned to crows, and the bread, and...ok, I'm going to stop before I give away too many things. A great movie to see if you ever find it.

I have waited more than 10 years to see this movie again...

[sjon2 · 10/10 · 1 January 2006]

I have no idea why previous comment said that this movie is bad, bad, bad... I believe it has a lot better plot then lots of late American kids movies. I absolutely love this movie. I have seen it when I was just a teenager and now I have found it again. I used to relate myself to it and imagine that the Spirit will someday come for me too... What an imaginative kid I was!!! Nowadays I have two kids myself and am sure they will enjoy watching it too.

I couldn't believe that it was so expensive to purchase since it is out of print for 5 years, but my husband had spoiled me this Christmas, after hearing my nostalgic story. :)

Myo,my Myo.....

[Lady_Targaryen · 8/10 · 15 December 2005]

When I watched ''Mio min Mio'' for the first time, I was a kid with 7 years old. It was one of my childhood's favorite movies, and until the present days I found it magical in a certain way. Reading here in IMDb I discovered that it was based in a book, but sadly I never read it, and I also discovered that the famous music played in the movie that get stuck in your head ,is called "Mio, Min Mio". I didn't remembered that Christian Bale worked in this movie, so it was a real pleasure to see him in the screens.( I like him a lot). I was very afraid as a child about Kato and all that dark atmosphere near his castle, not to mention the kids who were kidnapped and transformed into a bird; the last scene where Kato dies was terrifying, and at the same time very satisfying.

It's a pity that this movie isn't very well know. I guess many people would love to have watched this movie as a kid.

Ps: Don't forget that this movie was made in a time where Harry Potter didn't exist. But it is funny, since you can see some references to HP's books. The invisible cap that Mio uses, Kato, that always remembers me Voldemort, magic, an orfan who is hated by the people who takes care of him...well..I guess you got the point! :)

Lord of the Rings for kids. Great!

[sd11009 · 9/10 · 29 November 2004]

I saw this movie first in the early 90's when I was a kid and watched it again yesterday, 10+ years later. It was more impressive back then, I must admit. :)

The first part of the story reminded me of Harry Potter and the second of Lord of the Rings, however it solid on it's own and has enough unique features, so you wouldn't be bored.

A great fairytale for kids. Not too complex and doesn't have that much emotional tension. I only wish the acting was better, and the events would happen faster, but for an 1987 kids movie it's fine. Otherwise an enjoyable adventure.

Very nice fantasy film, deserves to be better known

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 21 July 2013]

The 80s saw a decade of some really good fantasy films, films like NeverEnding Story, Princess Bride, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Legend. Mio in the Land of Faraway is not one of the great fantasy films from a personal standpoint(there are some great ones from other decades too), however it does deserve better recognition than it does. The script can get stilted and childish, not all the special effects are great(for example the floating head is a memorable image, but you need to decide for yourself whether it's for the right reasons) and Timothy Bottoms doesn't have that much to do. It is a very beautiful-looking film though, the photography is simple but sweeping, the costumes are appropriate and there are some special effects that are quite good. But visually it is the lighting and sets that are the real revelations. The lighting is especially good in the darker moments, with the firelight and shadows as said already there is a real sense of creepiness, and the sets are so wondrously constructed with a striking contrast of lush and elegant for Faraway, dark and eerie for the dark moments and drab for Earth. Along with the visuals, the other big standout was the music, a score that is so beautifully soothing on the ears but it also haunts the mind, as any score for a good vs. evil film should do. The story sets itself up carefully and has all the right elements for fantasy and a tale of good vs. evil. There is the bullying angle that is easy to identify with, and the film is successful in drawing the inner child within you into the world that the characters inhabit. From an archetypal view, the characters are familiar to us but they are still engaging enough. The acting is fine, Nick Pickard and particularly Christian Bale are excellent in the lead roles and while one might wish that Christopher Lee were introduced into the film earlier, considering an actor of his calibre, he is an appropriately menacing villain of the piece. To conclude, very nice film, not without areas of improvement but should be better known. Once you look past the flaws and see the many merits there are, and judge the film on its own terms rather than a book vs. film comparison it might help to enjoy it more(mind you, there is emphasis on might to save the risk of ignorance), while it does help you don't necessarily have to be somebody who grew up perceiving it as a lifelong childhood favourite to like Mio in the Land of Faraway. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Beautiful Children's Film

[watersmistress · 10/10 · 27 February 2009]

I have 5 things in my house that if it were burning down I would risk my life to save them; The Land of Faraway is one of them. I have a VHS copy from the U.S. that I got in 1989 when I was 3 years old. I'm 22 now and I still love the film that much, I'm actually watching it right now.

This review may contain spoilers! The Land Of Faraway or Mio Min Mio, as most people know it, is the story of a boy named Bosse. His adoptive parents hate him and let him know it, the older kids bully him, and he only has two real friends: Mrs. Lundin a nice young woman who works at a local store and Benke a boy from school. Bosse greatest dream is to have a father that loves him like Benke. One day Mrs. Lundin gives Bosse a golden apple and asks him to mail a post card for her. The post card is to the King of the Land of Faraway and says something like "the one you have been looking for is here; he will have an apple of gold in his hand". Then out of a bottle on the ground a giant head/spirit emerges and takes Bosse away to the Land of Faraway. Bosse finds out that he's really Mio the Prince of the Land of Faraway! But there is a great evil man named Kato who steals children and turns them into birds, legend says that only a Prince can kill Kato and save the children. So Mio/Bosse sets of with friend Jum-Jum/Benke on an awesome adventure to defeat Kato!

The music in the film is so beautiful and haunting; you will be humming it for days. The acting by Nick Pickard as Bosse/Mio and Christian Bale as Benke/Jum-Jum is outstanding. I particularly love the lighting in the film; firelight creates creepy shadows across the sets and really sets the mood for the darker scenes. The copy I have is old so the sound is really bad and since the movie was made in the late 1980s the video quality looks sort of fuzzy and out of focus compared to new DVDs.

I would recommend this movie to every kid I have ever met and to adults who are fantasy fans.

~*Leah

You won't believe your eyes!

[monstermester · 10/10 · 23 March 2017]

This movie is a mess, with ridiculous effects and terrible acting. I love it. It's about a kid who goes to Faraway land by way of flying, bearded head and finds out he is the prince of this land. In the course of what feels like two days he defeats the ultimate evil in the land by way of being the main character.

It may be worth to mention that I hate the book, but love this film. While they are almost the exact same, the movies outdated effects and terrible acting adds to the strangeness you find in the story. It becomes more about trying to piece together what's really going on.

It is the perfect movie to place your kids in front of if you want something wholesome, but when you get drunk with your friends to mock it, the movie is awesome.

funniest 5 minutes of my life

[stouclaw · 10/10 · 7 January 2009]

The floating head is the funniest thing I've ever seen, also how the kid holds from the beard and then flies to far away in the floating head... the cheap steroids are amazing, i definitely recommend this part if you want to laugh really really hard, if you smoke weed, you must watch this with all your friends and have an amazing time. The floating head is the funniest thing I've ever seen, also how the kid holds from the beard and then flies to far away in the floating head... the cheap steroids are amazing, i definitely recommend this part if you want to laugh really really hard, if you smoke weed, you must watch this with all your friends and have an amazing time.

one of my favorite childhood movies

[kreydatus · 10/10 · 24 September 2021]

I can still recall the panpipe music scene since the first time I watched this movie which was about 30 years ago...

A spring wind

[Vincentiu · 14 October 2009]

Delicate, subtle, as a spring wind. A trip in the childhood colors, with the map of a gorgeous music. Nothing new, nothing spectacular. Two boys and the victory of good. A sword and two worlds. And the music as Proust madlene. A film who must be tasted by everyone. Not only for remember the beauty of a far age but for be more than a shadow. A film for understand the essence of life. Like a hopscotch in the grandparents yard. Christian Bale as Yo-yo, Chistopher Lee as Kato are bones of a time when the life was not a chase, not fiction or frustrations. And,an important piece is the language. In Russian the entire atmosphere is soft and warm.