i watched “i am sam” yesterday at the up film center and i was amazed at how smart that kid, dakota fanning, who played sean penn’s daughter was. it was incredible. at one point in the movie, sam (sean penn) tells lucy diamond dawson (dakota) she has grown a little taller and her eyes seem to have aged. she actually looked a lot like my little cuzin, tanya abcede. she has big, black curls and an inquisitive look about her. but her eyes, just like blonde and cute dakota fanning, seems to be older and way beyond her years. anyway, the movie was really touching and i could have been crying by my lonesome in the theater if not for the people around me. even at the first few minutes to the movie freshmen started sniffing and wiping their eyes and it zapped off me any empathy id normally have in a drama film. i was too disturbed by this big guy seated beside me with his girlfriend who was weeping more than she did. despite it i enjoyed the film, the soundtrack is a must-have, peppered all over with beatle staples and other hits from the 70s. at the last few minutes into the end dakota fanning finds a flying paper bird made of pink art paper. she picks it up, realizing it’s from her dad. she scans the trees above her but didnt find him. she smiles and moves on as her foster mom (laura dern from jurassic park) leads on. later a crane shot zooms up and we see sean penn perched way up in the canopy of leaves looking on. all the while sarah maclachlan sings a cover of the beatles’ black bird. really sweet, heartbreaking and uplifting, an irony of love and family. truly cinematic, it’s youre cue to sigh and blow your nose.