A young boy has a mother struggling with depression and, in trying to help her, links into his own fantasy of flying to a place of light when there is darkness.
In some ways this is a charming film, and the concept is a good one, even if it is also a little familiar. It has real world emotion, fantasy elements, and allows the viewer to see it all as if we were a more innocent child again. All of this is very nice in how it is done, and as an overall sweep of a shot film there is a certain charm to it. The problem is, it really is quite direct in how it does it; it starts with the narration, which explains too much early on – okay it stops at some point, but it really felt like it didn't trust the smaller detail to bring it out. It is also direct in the characters, they are pretty much in their box and doing what is needed from them, and these do rather limit the viewer getting in and around the material.
It is very nicely made though, whether it be the look of the film or the overall design (including fantasy sequence), and the performances are good when they need to be, with Tayor and Badaki delivering what was asked of them. It does produce a lovely sense of childlike wonder which I really enjoyed, it was just a shame that there wasn't more shading to it, because it did feel too direct in what it did.
In some ways this is a charming film, and the concept is a good one, even if it is also a little familiar. It has real world emotion, fantasy elements, and allows the viewer to see it all as if we were a more innocent child again. All of this is very nice in how it is done, and as an overall sweep of a shot film there is a certain charm to it. The problem is, it really is quite direct in how it does it; it starts with the narration, which explains too much early on – okay it stops at some point, but it really felt like it didn't trust the smaller detail to bring it out. It is also direct in the characters, they are pretty much in their box and doing what is needed from them, and these do rather limit the viewer getting in and around the material.
It is very nicely made though, whether it be the look of the film or the overall design (including fantasy sequence), and the performances are good when they need to be, with Tayor and Badaki delivering what was asked of them. It does produce a lovely sense of childlike wonder which I really enjoyed, it was just a shame that there wasn't more shading to it, because it did feel too direct in what it did.
