Wow. I'm glad some other people have seen this. Good. I didn't imagine it.
This short film from Poland is about four little boys and their games. Their leader is older and proclaims himself to be the Antichrist, and sets a series of foolish and increasingly dangerous tasks.
The four boys aren't professional actors. None have any other films to their credit. But all four deliver excellent performances.
The boys are playing around a rock quarry. The influences that we associate with civilization- family, school, church, rules of any sort- are far away and largely forgotten in the desolate landscape.
Eventually the three comparatively sane individuals began to realize the extent of the madness of their ill-chosen leader. The viewer is put in a moral quandary- do we fear that harm befalls the older boy as this would leave the three boys with mental scars, or do we hope that some force comes along to eliminate him in his youth so that forty years later he won't cause World War II.
This is a film that's not easy to watch. Many will be put off by what violence is scene and, worse yet, the underlying potential of something far worse. This is not for anyone with an idealized view of childhood, and it's definitely not for children.
Thanks to Independent Film Channel for running this on a program called Grindhouse Shorts. It's a revelation.
This short film from Poland is about four little boys and their games. Their leader is older and proclaims himself to be the Antichrist, and sets a series of foolish and increasingly dangerous tasks.
The four boys aren't professional actors. None have any other films to their credit. But all four deliver excellent performances.
The boys are playing around a rock quarry. The influences that we associate with civilization- family, school, church, rules of any sort- are far away and largely forgotten in the desolate landscape.
Eventually the three comparatively sane individuals began to realize the extent of the madness of their ill-chosen leader. The viewer is put in a moral quandary- do we fear that harm befalls the older boy as this would leave the three boys with mental scars, or do we hope that some force comes along to eliminate him in his youth so that forty years later he won't cause World War II.
This is a film that's not easy to watch. Many will be put off by what violence is scene and, worse yet, the underlying potential of something far worse. This is not for anyone with an idealized view of childhood, and it's definitely not for children.
Thanks to Independent Film Channel for running this on a program called Grindhouse Shorts. It's a revelation.