This is not an easy movie. On the surface is the same formula of the older man telling a story to a child and then showing us what the child sees, but every scene is handcrafted to mean something and to connect to something. This is not a film for children, but for attentive adults, that's why, I believe, it received less than stellar reviews and was not recognized as the great achievement it is.
The imaginary world is visually stunning, while the scenes in "reality" feel so natural and authentic. It is hard to make a nine year old child act with any degree of craft, but in this film the director went further: it made the film around the natural behavior of the child. It is a strange concept: a real story that is only hinted at, with just glimpses of what happens, juxtaposed against a fairy tale with exquisite detail, but not going anywhere. It's the fantastical that informs on the real, through the psyche of both protagonists.
I liked the film quite a lot, but it requires more than the average effort usually spent on consuming a movie.
The imaginary world is visually stunning, while the scenes in "reality" feel so natural and authentic. It is hard to make a nine year old child act with any degree of craft, but in this film the director went further: it made the film around the natural behavior of the child. It is a strange concept: a real story that is only hinted at, with just glimpses of what happens, juxtaposed against a fairy tale with exquisite detail, but not going anywhere. It's the fantastical that informs on the real, through the psyche of both protagonists.
I liked the film quite a lot, but it requires more than the average effort usually spent on consuming a movie.