Yellow

This short film challenges the viewer. It forces them to ask why they watched it, and indeed, why it was made.

It's not that it's badly filmed, and the acting is competent enough. It just doesn't have a story. There's almost a story there, but it never really develops.

The makers of the film clearly tried in several places to lead the viewer astray, hinting that there might actually be a story in there. Some of those leads, had they been taken through to fruition, may have led to an interesting and thought provoking film.

There is also nothing to help you identify with any of the characters. They can be summed up as 'woman', 'man' and 'girl'. That's as much character development as you get. By the time you think there's genuine peril for any of them, I found myself not really caring.

This short film could easily have become a single scene in a longer film. It would fit superbly in the average Mike Leigh film. But he'd have given you well-developed people to watch, and there'd have been a point to the scene. Without those, it's just a bland filler, worth avoiding.

I've just found this on IMDb after first watching it on telly in '98.

It obviously left an impression as it's stuck in my mind since..

I haven't seen it again but i felt compelled to write after reading another unflattering review.

If you can, watch this film.

Winstone is always a pleasure to watch, and i recall this being beautifully shot, the location is fantastic (lush yellow fields(rapeseed?))and the plot has really subtle sinister undertones -bringing to mind some of Andrea Arnolds films.

A cracking short. If memory serves..!