The movie shows how casual these small-town folk indulge in racism and bullying. Part of Pepper's list of good deeds given to him by a priest (Tom Wilkinson) is to befriend a Japanese neighbor who returned from an internment camp.
This is a Christian-themed film about the power of belief but at no point does it make explicit whether it's coincidence or the power of Pepper channeling God. A funny thing happened on the way to a nuclear bomb detonation, and that is that Little Boy is a fairly agreeable and effective family film that conveys a message with a welcomed degree of ambiguity and complexity and tolerance. I was waiting for the moment and amping my sense of dread and moral outrage. the dropping of the atomic bomb (WWII aficionados will recognize the nickname of the bomb). So through the power of belief he causes. He's told that through the power of belief he can accomplish great things, and well, he really wants his dad to come home. This inspirational Christian independent film is set during World War II and features a pint-sized moppet, Pepper (Jakob Salvati), whose only real friend is his father (Michael Rapaport), who is now serving in the fight in the Pacific.
I was expecting to bury Little Boy in an avalanche of negativity once I found out a late plot point that made my jaw drop.
