Jane can offer Fred what Dede cannot, the intellectual spur that will keep that side of him alive and stimulated. And though Dede fears Jane may turn her son into another kid freak show, she allows Fred to go for it. And when Fred goes to college, it is both poignant and hilarious.

Though the final moments are a bit less satisfying than everything that has gone before, and some of the humor at Jane's expense seems a bit cheap, "Little Man Tate" emerges as a thought-provoking, enchanting little fable that marks the debut of a director to watch for. It's also a strong treatise on the value of pure, unconditional love as a necessary part of childhood development.

The performances, by Foster, Wiest, Hann-Byrd and a supporting cast that includes singer Harry Connick Jr. as a college student who befriends Fred, George Plimpton as a pompous William F. Buckley takeoff named "Winston F. Buckner," P.J. Ochlan as a snotty teenage genius called the "Math Magician" and Josh Mostel as a weary physics professor, is superb.

Screenwriter Scott Frank also wrote "Dead Again," which was stylishly directed by Kenneth Branagh. Like that film, "Little Man Tate" is a delicate screenplay that could have been a disaster in the wrong hands. But Foster was the perfect choice to keep the material light, yet poignant; funny, yet never frivolous; and touching but, for the most part, unsentimental.

"Little Man Tate" is a joyous film experience and as such is highly recommended. It is rated PG for profanity, a couple of vulgar remarks and a very brief shot of Connick in bed with a woman.