Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Unusual Australian drama has a few moments of violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
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Opal Dream
What's the Story?
Rex Williamson has moved his family to a small town in the Australian Outback in the hopes of striking it rich in an opal mine. Rex's daughter Kellyanne is a fervent believer in the existence of two imaginary friends -- Pobby and Dingan. The family always leaves two extra plates at the dinner table for them, and can't help but indulge their daughter's rich fantasy life. When Rex "takes" Pobby and Dingan to work and "forgets" to bring them back, Kellyanne insists on going back to the mines to find them. When they do, it is dark, and the owner of the mines confronts Rex and accuses him of being a "ratter," or a poacher of other men's mines. The Williamson family ends up being ostracized by almost everyone in the town. While Rex tries to prove his innocence, Kellyanne becomes sick as she believes that Pobby and Dingan have died. It is up to her skeptical brother Ash to find a way to believe his sister's stories and convince his family and town to believe, too.
Is It Any Good?
In spite of the stretching required to convey the theme of the film, Opal Dream delivers an inspiring, if uneven, story of faith beyond what most of us see. In much the way viewers might wonder why teenagers in horror films open the basement doors of haunted houses, it's easy at first to feel frustrated with the decisions the parents make in OPAL DREAM and the ridiculous lengths they go to indulge their 9-year-old daughter's belief in imaginary friends. They leave extra plates at the dinner table, they buckle the empty backseats of their vehicles, and they incur the wrath of the entire town after being caught at night trespassing on mine land.
The acting -- Christian Byers as the boy Ashmun in particular -- is well done, and the viewer gets a vivid glimpse of life in an Australian Outback mining town. While the ending requires a great leap of faith on the part of the viewer, it's obvious that the makers of Opal Dream have their heart in the right place, and have a deeper message they want to share with the world.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in the movie. Did it seem appropriate to the story? Would the movie have been as powerful without it?
Was the family's response to Kellyanne's active imagination sensible and appropriate? Why or why not?
How does Ash change over the course of the movie? What do you think his character is meant to portray?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 3, 2007
- Cast : Christian Byers , Sapphire Boyce , Vince Colosimo
- Director : Peter Cattaneo
- Studio : Strand Releasing
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Run time : 85 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : mild thematic elements, language, and some violence
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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