Mio in the Land of Faraway

I love this movie as it is one of my childhood favorites. It's a wonderful tale and should be more honored.


So Bizarre, It's An Undeniable Classic   May 2, 2006
Andrew Beaton (Venice, CA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This movie (on VHS) was given to me many years ago as a gift. Although I had never even heard of this film at the time, it only took one viewing for it to become a favorite of mine. These days, it seems you can score a DVD of "The Land of Faraway" for a cool hundred bones. And I assure you, it is worth every penny.

First off, there's the drab opening scenes where poor orphan Bosse gets picked on by everyone. You'll feel sorry for him, but that's because you don't realize he has a wondrous destiny in store. All of a sudden, a giant floating head materializes out of nowhere and, ordering Bosse to hang onto his beard, spirits him away to the Land of Faraway! Needless to say, this is a bizarre montage that will astound you.

The floating head delivers him to the palace, where he meets his father (the King, natch) and his best friend Jum-Jum. (How you can have a best friend you've never met is a bit bewildering to me, but hey, it's Christian Bale, and he could sell a blind man a "pap", let alone a friendless loser on the prospect of a new homie.) Bosse gets a new name, "Mio", and a flying horse, "Miramis", and the audience begins to wonder what the heck is going on here.

Enter the evil villain, KATO! Every time his name is spoken, a fierce and scary wind blows from somewhere offscreen. The effect is so comical, I guarantee you will find yourself repeatedly faux-intoning "KA-TO!!" after watching the film. (By the way, it rhymes with "gato", not NATO.) Christopher Lee is awesome in this role, particularly when he gets to deliver lines like "This is the most dangerous sword I've had in my castle...it cannot kill the young and innocent!" Obviously, the new Prince of Faraway needs to take this mug down. So Mio and Jum-Jum set out on an adventure to take down KATO and restore peace to the Land of Faraway.

Cue the ABBA-penned theme!

If you're looking for a wondrous fantasy film that will thrill child and grownup alike, you might fare better with Harry Potter, etc. But if you're in the mood for a freaky Swedish flick that looks like it was made under the heavy influence of mushrooms, with a really scary wind that blows every time someone says "KATO", this movie is for you!


Christian Bale goes Astrid lindgren   August 6, 2005
Marsian (Sweden)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is a magical and very loved english talking-movie played out in sweden but with many english actors and some swedish.

Astrid Lindgren - author of the book
Christopher Lee - actor who plays Saruman in (lord of the rings)
Christian Bale - Actor who played Jim in (Empire of the sun)

people who doesn't speak swedish dont know how many great child movies we have (written by Astrid Lindgren) that are extremly wonderful and magical.
other favorits are:
Ronja (Ronia, the Robber's Daughter)
Broderna lejonhjarta (The Brothers Lionheart)
And many others... for people who enjoys foreign cool movies.


Mio In the Land of Far away   October 15, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I loved this movie as a child. We taped it off the tv, and I cant find that old tape anymore. Im going to order the dvd. I work with school age children and Im sure they will love this as much as I did as a child. Obviously it isnt as technically advanced as Harry potter, or the new childrens movies..but that doesnt mean its a bad movie. Its exciting! Kids of all ages will like this movie!


Beautiful Children's Film   February 27, 2009
WatersMistress (Western North Carolina)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I have 5 things in my house that if it were burning down I would risk my life to save them; The Land of Faraway is one of them. I have a VHS copy from the U.S. that I got in 1989 when I was 3 years old. I'm 22 now and I still love the film that much, I'm actually watching it right now.

This review may contain spoilers!

The Land Of Faraway or Mio Min Mio, as most people know it, is the story of a boy named Bosse. His adoptive parents hate him and let him know it, the older kids bully him, and he only has two real friends: Mrs. Lundin a nice young woman who works at a local store and Benke a boy from school. Bosse greatest dream is to have a father that loves him like Benke. One day Mrs. Lundin gives Bosse a golden apple and asks him to mail a post card for her. The post card is to the King of the Land of Faraway and says something like "the one you have been looking for is here; he will have an apple of gold in his hand". Then out of a bottle on the ground a giant head/spirit emerges and takes Bosse away to the Land of Faraway. Bosse finds out that he's really Mio the Prince of the Land of Faraway! But there is a great evil man named Kato who steals children and turns them into birds, legend says that only a Prince can kill Kato and save the children. So Mio/Bosse sets of with friend Jum-Jum/Benke on an awesome adventure to defeat Kato!

The music in the film is so beautiful and haunting; you will be humming it for days. The acting by Nick Pickard as Bosse/Mio and Christian Bale as Benke/Jum-Jum is outstanding. I particularly love the lighting in the film; firelight creates creepy shadows across the sets and really sets the mood for the darker scenes. The copy I have is old so the sound is really bad and since the movie was made in the late 1980s the video quality looks sort of fuzzy and out of focus compared to new DVDs.

I would recommend this movie to every kid I have ever met and to adults who are fantasy fans.