Made as the exam film of the writer/director, this short film is based on a fairly simple premise – which is that a young girl tries to break her mother out of depression, and reclaim their relationship, by way of exposing her to a particularly magical experience she had on a hill outside. To have such a frame is not a big deal, because it really depends on what the film does with it, and in this case the narrative probably doesn't do enough or allow enough to be suggested. As it is, the story doesn't test the edges of its frame much, instead it unfolds from the start to the end pretty much as you would expect, with the conclusion having less spark and charm than it should have done, primarily because it always felt like it would be heading there.
As such the content could have used more in there, whether directly or indirectly; and the delivery of it would have benefited from some different devices and a little less obvious direction to some of them. The film does have strength though, and in particular I enjoyed the design and use of the main location of the house. It is aesthetically pleasing with its sparse but classic designs, and I liked the use of the space, and the things that the camera chose to focus on within it. The young girl (Aurora Bach Rodal) is a good presence too, although I did wish that she had more to do than she did – for sure she was capable of more. Technically, in addition to the design, the film does look and sound pretty good – with only the grainy effect of the copy I saw working against it. The bubble sequences are not great though, and this is a shame because this is where we are supposed to be captured by something – and the film doesn't really bring this out.
Writer/director Hvistendahl gives enough here to want to see more from her, but unfortunately one is also left with the same feeling from the film itself.
As such the content could have used more in there, whether directly or indirectly; and the delivery of it would have benefited from some different devices and a little less obvious direction to some of them. The film does have strength though, and in particular I enjoyed the design and use of the main location of the house. It is aesthetically pleasing with its sparse but classic designs, and I liked the use of the space, and the things that the camera chose to focus on within it. The young girl (Aurora Bach Rodal) is a good presence too, although I did wish that she had more to do than she did – for sure she was capable of more. Technically, in addition to the design, the film does look and sound pretty good – with only the grainy effect of the copy I saw working against it. The bubble sequences are not great though, and this is a shame because this is where we are supposed to be captured by something – and the film doesn't really bring this out.
Writer/director Hvistendahl gives enough here to want to see more from her, but unfortunately one is also left with the same feeling from the film itself.