Three Kids and Their Cottage

Description

The film opens in a primary school playground. We meet our protagonists: Arthur, the tough kid; Barbara, the awkward girl knitting in the corner; and Callum, the boy attracting crowds with his bow and arrow. Arthur recruits Barbara as a tailor and designer and Callum for his charisma: he plans to build a ‘secret base’. Imagining themselves going on a fastical journey, they take the bus to a remote farmer’s field. They decide to claim that they inherited the land from their great grandfather; Arthur brings a jar of ‘ashes’ to put in the house as proof. They start to build the house together, with Arthur directing. Everything is going well: each kid has a role to play. Barbara is knitting happily and Callum bravely goes off to hunt for food for the team, although strangely he always brings back fruit instead of meat.But as time goes on, tensions arise. Arthur is expecting full dedication from the gang and senses a lack of commitment. Barbara expresses a desire to go home but Arthur tells her off. She goes quiet and retreats into the corner but Callum comforts her and gets her to participate again. Meanwhile, everyone is getting hungry. Arthur orders Callum to bring meat, not fruit. A sheep appears on the scene. Callum aims at it reluctantly with his bow and arrow, then breaks down and reveals that he can’t kill it because he’s a vegan and loves animals. Barbara tries to stand up for Callum and an argument ensues between them and Arthur. Barbara leaves, followed shortly by Callum, who is exhausted by the conflict. A storm comes in and Arthur tries helplessly to keep the house together by himself. The film flashes back to his childhood home being destroyed by a storm and his parents’ marriage subsequently falling apart. Barbara and Callum come back and they reconcile, using their skills to save the house. But the farmer comes to evict them and they have to leave.In a desperate state, Arthur goes back to his mum. They reconcile. Arthur tells his mum that he just wants to feel at home and his mum apologises for how things have been in the past. Arthur realises that his mum has been trying her best; he recognises that it may not be perfect, but this is his actual home. The film ends with Barbara opening up her garden so they can rebuild the house there. Callum gives up his bow and arrows. Together, the three kids continue their fantasy, comfortable in each other’s company and finally home.

Biblical Connection

The source we are using is Matthew 2:1-12. The book of Matthew is written mainly for the Jewish people of that era, who had been expecting a Messiah to come and fight for them as a king and conqueror. Just like the Jews, the Magi were expecting the newborn king to be born in Jerusalem, the focus of many of the prophecies. However, baby Jesus was actually born in the small town of Bethlehem. Thus the story of Jesus’ life starts with a radical change of perspective to introduce how subversive the kingdom of Jesus is. We’ve broken the story down into a group of people (the Magi) looking for something in the place they expect to find it (the newborn king, Jerusalem), but it turns out to be somewhere they’ve never thought of (Bethlehem). So the story follows the same theme as the three kids go on a journey of building a house which they can call home, but they eventually find that feeling at home is not about a building with walls, but rather about love and forgiveness.