Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Just perfect...

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

A young boy struggles on his own in a run-down motel after his parents and younger brother are separated from him in 1930s Depression-era Midwest.Being based on a memoir, I have to wonder how much of this is fact and how much is fiction. There is nothing fantastical, so I am inclined to believe that it is largely true. However, given that the main character is prone to telling stories, it leaves me to wonder if perhaps the narrator may even have fudged a few things in the process.Ultimately, it does not really matter either way. The story is enjoyable and the whole thing is very tightly directed and edited. Although not very much actually happens to this kid, it is still fun to watch him get himself into and out of jams... and we have to wonder how much of a con artist the pet store owner is.

The good and unique thing about "King of the hill" is that it cannot be pigeonholed. It is neither the run of the mill, hippie dippy graced by the box office Hollywood flick not it is a sensible sample of the American independent movement. It is a film which is rarely made these days. This is because such films are made through a stroke of luck. A must for all the young kids who have ever had a bold direct personal encounter with poverty. Jesse Bradford is a joy to behold. So are Jeroen Krabbe, Splading Gray and Elisabeth Mcgovern. However the crowd puller is the great performance by Adrien Brody. He plays his role with tremendous dedication. Anyone could have easily predicted that he is a star in the making. As far as captain soderburg is concerned. Just a word of advice : kindly reinvent your lost style by watching some of your old films. May be the world might surely benefit due to your watching your own films.

I watch this movie, whenever it is on cable. Jessie Bradford is excellent, and you never doubt his sincerity for a moment.I thought that the little brother was terrible, though...and I was kind of glad to see him go. I was disappointed when he returned.(I read in an earlier submission that someone said the mother was mentally unstable. that's just not so. She went to a Sanatorium, for her tuberculosis. I had to clear that up) Not a fan of Adrien Brody, but he played a good part, and his character was likable.**Here be spoilers** (kinda) One of the best moments in the film, for me, was when the Cop almost got killed by the produce truck, and the child he was harassing, stole some fruit and ran. I couldn't stop laughing.I would recommend this film highly.

This is a beautiful movie about an enterprising young man who survives various hardships during the depression. It has a bitter edge but isn't excessive and brings back tales of my grandmother's of how her family coped during the depression. My grandmother's parents were far more functional than the frail ill mother and the traveling salesman father who basically abandons his child to work out of state. I agree with other comments it hardly seems American because it is so deep without smashing the hammer down on our heads. Even though it is harsh I think it is suitable for older children if nothing more than an abject lesson about how real and difficult life really was. The irony is that America still exists to a lesser degree we just don't see it in the movies or on TV.