Hand in Hand

Director Philip Leacock, praised for his handling of child actors, does another excellent job with the two young stars in this story about religious tolerance -- and intolerance. Loretta Parry is Rachel, a seven-year-old Jewish girl whose best friend and playmate Michael (Philip Needs) is exactly the same age. Michael has been raised in an Irish Catholic family, but neither child thinks very much about their religious differences. At least, not until certain biases begin to make their presence known. But Rachel and Michael's friendship is so strong that even when they visit each other's place of worship and are wholly intimidated by the strangeness of it all, they still remain best buddies. Interwoven with threads of wisdom that might be a little forced at times, this family-oriented drama is also enlivened by comic moments and good acting and directing that keep the story from slipping into saccharine clichés.