Simon Birch

Simon Birch is a boy who was not expected to survive birth, yet he grows up in a small New England town as its smallest resident, convinced that God made him small because he is destined for something great. His closest friend is Joe Wenteworth, a boy from one of the town's founding families who has never learned the identity of his father, because his mother Rebecca refuses to say. As the two boys move through a childhood full of trouble and questions, Simon presses adults around him, including the local minister, while Joe keeps searching for the truth about his parentage.

The film was released in 1998 and was directed by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote the screenplay. It is the first feature he directed, followed later by Daredevil, Ghost Rider and several other films. Ian Michael Smith plays Simon, Joseph Mazzello plays Joe, and Ashley Judd appears as Rebecca, with Oliver Platt, David Strathairn and Dana Ivey in supporting roles. It was produced by Caravan Pictures and Hollywood Pictures on a budget of about 20 million dollars, and its worldwide gross was around 18 million dollars.

On IMDb the film holds a critics' rating of 5.8 out of 10 from 32 reviews, while on TMDB it has a rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 278 votes.