SUNDAY - 4 p.m.

Paula's Secret

(Ages 11 and up)

German with English sub-titles

For a film which kicks off with a daydreaming girl fantasising about princesses and fairytale castles, 'Paula's Secret' certainly covers a lot of ground.

By the time this German offering is over it has dealt with parental neglect, child abuse, human trafficking, class conflict and crime.

But the strength of the film is such weighty issues are nimbly weaved together, rather than forced, in a compelling but not-too-challenging narrative which wends its way to a suitably satisfying conclusion.

Paula is a lonely eleven year old who has all the material possessions she could wish for, but finds that most of her parenting gets done by the family maid.

So she pours her heart out into a diary, logging her romantic flights of fancy, and is devastated when it gets stolen on the train.

The theft, carried out by Romanian child slaves, is spotted by her secret admirer Tobi who is also from the wrong side of the tracks. He gallantly steps forward to help but hardly compares to Paula's imaginary knights in shining armour although she finally consents to join forces.

They make an odd couple – one from a family of overachievers and the other from a family of underachievers, with Tobi on his last chance before being kicked out of school.

Paula dodges summer camp and Tobi's sister goes instead, where she learns how the other half live. Paula stays with Tobi and together they follow the thieves and eventually realise that, whatever own problems, their Romanian counterparts have it far worse.

But the film also makes the point that no matter how trivial they might seem, every kid's problem is huge to that child and demands adequate attention.

Certainly the film kept my attention throughout the 94 minutes because it all hangs together so well. It's so rare to see a kids' film which tackles so much without getting preachy, corny or overly farfetched.

The themes are universal yet delivered in a manner which grabs you. My only quibble was the subtitles were far too small to read. And why did they bother translating the swear words?

Overall though, 'Paula's Secret' mustn't remain a secret to the movie-going public any longer.