Winner of the First International Misty Moon Film festival,
this short (4mins 47secs) film is either: a glossily poetic depiction of
dementia; the most artistic commercial for life insurance ever made; or a
genuinely affecting and succinct evocation of a life-long love with a nod to the
opening from Pixar’s ‘UP’. All in all I
think I’ll choose the latter interpretation.
Written, produced and directed by Julia Lowe and David
Hayes, For, Words is a film which
gently waltzes in perfect harmony to the Keston Cobblers’ Club song of the same
name.
The film opens with two music-box figurines dancing entwined.
We are then introduced to an elderly couple – the lady sits at a table with her
back to the camera whilst her (presumed) husband shuffles towards her with a
slightly tottering tea-tray. We are not shown either of the couple’s faces,
although there is a framed black and white photograph on the table of a
school-age boy and girl. As the tea is poured we see a small note by the cup
with the name ‘Charles’ handwritten in feint pencil. So far so cosy.
But preconceived expectations are then literally dismantled
before our eyes. The photograph is torn down the middle – parting the
monochrome young couple. A wall-framed ‘Home Sweet Home’ embroidered motto is
taken down off the wall; a telephone is unplugged and a toilet cover is
unscrewed. Scissors cut through tartan cloth and cricketing paraphernalia is
strewn across a garden fence. A montage of carefully crafted shots of mundane minutiae
being disassembled and reused to build some kind of abstract outdoor structure
build in tantalising glimpses. Just as the ‘reveal’ appears imminent we cut to
a flashback sequence where we see the origins of the note when it is passed to
‘Charles’ behind teachers back in class. Images of the schoolgirl and boy
featured in the photo show our young explorers trying out rudimentary space
helmets fashioned from colanders and spoons on a summer lawn before they turn
and pose for the aforementioned photo.
As the content of the note is revealed, so is the finished
construction. Young dreams realised, our explorers dance against a backdrop of
a bric-a-brac space rocket and a smoking fuse of rope and matches.
For, Words is a perfect
fusion of song and images, an evocative visual carousel which lingers long in
the mind and reaps rewards with repeated viewings.
Paul Worts
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