Monday at the Movies: "Ballet Shoes"

"We three Fossils vow to put our name in the history books because it is uniquely ours and ours alone, and no one can say it's because of our grandfathers."

Marmie and I found a copy of this excellent film at our local library. Based on the book of the same name by Noel Streatfeild, it follows the lives of three young adopted sisters known as the Fossils in 1930s England. Each of the sisters is different in their pursuits--Petrova wants to fly planes, Pauline (Emma Watson of HP fame) wants to be a serious actress, and Polly wants to dance like the mother she never knew who left her a pair of ballet shoes.

There are differences from the book (I've not read it, but I've heard many fans say so), but the story is still very rich and vibrant. Not to mention visually stunning--the director and art team really delved into the theatrical stylings of the 1930s. I won't give any of the plot away, but I will bait the lolitas out there with these clippings of Pauline doing Alice and Wonderland:

I should also mention that the combined cast (not just the girls) of this movie is pretty awesome. Their quirkiness really brought out the extended family quality this movie portrayed, with different people outside one's biological family becoming one's family by sharing spaces and memories. A very beautiful film.