The plot of the film takes place in the family of the popular children’s writer Stephen Lewis. A loving father goes to the supermarket with his four-year-old daughter Kate. The girl walked away for a second while dad paid for the purchases. After taking the packages, Stephen looks around and realizes that the child has disappeared. He rushes around the street and the store, but no one has seen Kate. Perhaps this is the worst thing that can happen to a loving parent. Lose the child that was just next to you. Where could Kate have gone? Why didn’t anyone see where the girl went? The meaning of the film will be revealed gradually and, perhaps, everyone will understand it in their own way. The meaning of the movie The Child in Time
At home, Julia, who still does not know anything, is waiting for dad and daughter. The news shocks her and she becomes depressed. Every mother will understand Julia, because she lost her only daughter. She doesn’t even know if Kate is alive. Endlessly stretching time, hope for good luck. But all searches for the girl are fruitless.
Over time, Julia tries to accept this situation. On a subconscious level, she still blames Stephen for not looking after his daughter and losing her. As a result, their marriage does not withstand such a cruel test of fate and the spouses disperse. Julia leaves to live in a small village by the sea and tries to start a new life.
Stephen does not lose hope of finding his little daughter. He kept her room the way it was. Every Christmas he decorates the tree and puts gifts under it. From time to time, he seems to see Kate in a yellow raincoat, in which she was on that fateful day.
However, another test awaits the writer. Stephen’s best friend, Charles, who has always helped him in publishing books and supported him in everything, decides to retire. With his wife Thelma, they move into their own house near the forest. This news upsets Stephen, because he already has a very difficult period in his life. Charles and his wife were very close to the writer. And now he is left alone. He is in complete bewilderment why his friend so abruptly decided to leave and move away from the civilized world. Yes, a lot has changed at work, Charles’s views did not coincide with the opinion of management. Could he have found the only way out?
Meanwhile, Steven comes to the village to Julia. In search of her home, he comes to a small pub. In the window, he notices a girl who looks at him and smiles. Steven has a strange feeling. He’s sure he’s been here before, but he doesn’t remember it himself. And it remains in his thoughts until he meets his own parents.
The meaning of the movie The Child in Time
The meaning of the film The Child in Time is partly revealed by Stephen’s mother. She remembered visiting this pub when she was pregnant. It was a difficult time and then she doubted whether she should have a child. But then the mother explains that at one moment she saw her future son in the window and all doubts were immediately dispelled. It turns out that they saw each other at different times? Steven, a grown man, turned out to be the same child in time for his mother.
Later, Steven decides to visit his best friend. Arriving to him, he finds a strange picture. Charles runs through the forest, climbs trees like a boy, and drinks urine from a bottle in a built lair. It seems that he gave free rein to his inner child, who at one time was largely limited. Or the change in Charles’ behavior is also one of the explanations for the film. In a way, he is that child in time, only now an adult … Unfortunately, Charles does not cope with his game and commits suicide without leaving any explanation.
The meaning of the ending of the film The Child in Time is ambiguous. Julia tells the good news to her husband. She calls her husband already from the hospital and it turns out that they are about to have a son. Both Stephen and Julia once saw a mysterious boy in their lives who disappeared as suddenly as he appeared. Is this really the boy and he returned to them? Is this the child in time? The life of the spouses still continues, through the pain and loss of the eldest daughter. She has never been found, but the parents will still believe that Kate is alive and loved. At least by their own parents – Stephen and Julia.
Write in the comments your meaning of the movie The Child in Time. We look forward to waiting!
