Turning

This is a strange and compelling little film which captures the weird innocence and unspoken sensuality of childhood. It's beautifully made, every shot is a feast for the eyes and ears, with a real richness of texture everywhere you look - the art direction, costume, lighting, music have clearly had much time and love lavished on them. I saw it at the Edinburgh Festival and then went to the videotheque and watched it again all over again. The little boy who plays the central character gives a beautiful performance, intense and watchful as three old ladies enter his life and bring their strange magic. Through his eyes they appear as birds, squawking and pecking and feeding on their cake. There is a range of really stunning animation too (stopframe, CG, shadowplay). You never know what is coming next with this film - an utter joy to watch.

It's only ten minutes long, but I went through a wide range of reactions as it played. The first couple of minutes were so unexpectedly strange that I nearly shut it off. I'm happy I didn't, though, because things only got stranger and weirder for young Robert, and then I realized that I had been treated to a very pleasant afternoon through his eyes. Scary, happy, funny, sexy, and sad. I was amazed at the blend of animation and live action. It might not even be appropriate to call those things animation exactly because it seems to be real objects put together digitally... Well, maybe it'll just be better if you watch it. I guarantee it will be a feast for your eyes. And it will be a marvel for your mind that such depth and range of feeling can be squeezed into ten minutes. Ultimately lovely!