First off, It's clear that the major influence on this film is Donnie Darko, and at times the film feels a bit too derivative. There's many a shot of the protagonist moodily riding his bike down pine tree-lined mountain roads; there's a scene where supposed 'bad kids' shoot bottles off logs with pellet guns; there's a Halloween party that goes awry; and there's the very fact the premise of the film is based around a disturbed teenager who talks to a furry imaginary friend. Saying that, though, there is something incredibly fresh and beguiling about this film that makes some of this mimicry forgivable.
The film explores the relationship between Pol, a confused teenager, and his imaginary friend/teddy bear Deerhoof, and the fallout that comes when he tries to leave this comfort toy behind and move into the 'adult' world. Although this sounds like the recent film Ted, the tone is about as far away from that film as you can get. But surprisingly, this serious treatment really works, and the relationship between the two is nicely observed and actually quite poignant. Deerhoof is an awesome creation, a beautifully manoeuvred puppet that's a breath of fresh air in CGI-overkill modern fantasy cinema.
Besides charming teddy bear puppets, many scenes and ideas in the film are just inspired, and make for exhilarating cinema. There's the interesting fact that the film is presented in a mix of Catalan and English, something that could go horribly wrong, but comes across as genuinely interesting, despite the English/Catalan school bubble feeling a little unbelievable. Also, the lush, dreamy cinematography by Eduard Grau is just beautiful...and the film presents a picture of a lush, lake and mountain filled Catalan community rarely represented on film. The soundtrack is fantastic... on its own, it's great, but like all the best films the popular music it uses reflects the protagonist's psyche/frame of mind. The use of the A Frames' punky, angry Memoranda to score some scenes was awesome; the long take of Pol emerging from a tunnel in the early morning with a bleeding wrist set to that song is just electric. I couldn't get that song out of my head for a good couple weeks after seeing the film.
Oriol Pla gives an impressive show of adolescent angst and makes for a sensitive, sympathetic lead ...plus the guy has gorgeous killer cheekbones. The script unfortunately makes his character a little powerless in the final reels though, and there's a feeling of him being pushed aside for random, barely developed goings-on to take over. He definitely has a bright film future ahead though. Agustus Prew was a bit bland for my liking as the love interest...I didn't really see why half the school was slobbering over him. Roser Tapias fares better as Pol's confidante and secret admirer Laia, and Maria Rodríguez Soto makes a beguiling impression as the pixie-like Clara, even in a tiny role.
When Martin Freeman said in an interview he accepted the small teacher role he has in this film because he felt the script had something to say, I think he hit on the head what makes this film special: even though humans have a frustrating habit of complicating things, at the end of the day we're all just animals...Oh, and that growing up is a bitch!
The film explores the relationship between Pol, a confused teenager, and his imaginary friend/teddy bear Deerhoof, and the fallout that comes when he tries to leave this comfort toy behind and move into the 'adult' world. Although this sounds like the recent film Ted, the tone is about as far away from that film as you can get. But surprisingly, this serious treatment really works, and the relationship between the two is nicely observed and actually quite poignant. Deerhoof is an awesome creation, a beautifully manoeuvred puppet that's a breath of fresh air in CGI-overkill modern fantasy cinema.
Besides charming teddy bear puppets, many scenes and ideas in the film are just inspired, and make for exhilarating cinema. There's the interesting fact that the film is presented in a mix of Catalan and English, something that could go horribly wrong, but comes across as genuinely interesting, despite the English/Catalan school bubble feeling a little unbelievable. Also, the lush, dreamy cinematography by Eduard Grau is just beautiful...and the film presents a picture of a lush, lake and mountain filled Catalan community rarely represented on film. The soundtrack is fantastic... on its own, it's great, but like all the best films the popular music it uses reflects the protagonist's psyche/frame of mind. The use of the A Frames' punky, angry Memoranda to score some scenes was awesome; the long take of Pol emerging from a tunnel in the early morning with a bleeding wrist set to that song is just electric. I couldn't get that song out of my head for a good couple weeks after seeing the film.
Oriol Pla gives an impressive show of adolescent angst and makes for a sensitive, sympathetic lead ...plus the guy has gorgeous killer cheekbones. The script unfortunately makes his character a little powerless in the final reels though, and there's a feeling of him being pushed aside for random, barely developed goings-on to take over. He definitely has a bright film future ahead though. Agustus Prew was a bit bland for my liking as the love interest...I didn't really see why half the school was slobbering over him. Roser Tapias fares better as Pol's confidante and secret admirer Laia, and Maria Rodríguez Soto makes a beguiling impression as the pixie-like Clara, even in a tiny role.
When Martin Freeman said in an interview he accepted the small teacher role he has in this film because he felt the script had something to say, I think he hit on the head what makes this film special: even though humans have a frustrating habit of complicating things, at the end of the day we're all just animals...Oh, and that growing up is a bitch!
