The Night I Swam

Luckily there are some people who appeal to film and sensitivity to narrate their movies. Like Kohei Igarashi and Damien Manivel, who return us to the pleasure of observing, understanding and explaining, without words, the sensations that cold provokes in our bodies or the idea of miss daddy so much.

I don't know why the child in the film can't fall asleep, I could hardly keep my eyes open. From start to finish. Looks as though the authors had a free winter day, the camera and an awkward silent boy to babysit. We don't have a script, but what the hell, we'll make it up along the way, said the authors. Release the boy! Camera! Action! The resulting film is not entirely bad, but extremely boring. Not only there is no plot, but also not a single character. The boy moves and behaves like a somnambula and by the end of the film falls into utter catalepsy, his household is hardly in a better state. It is not until the 50th minute, when the boy is looking through the photos, that sort of an explosion happens. Explosion of meaning. At this moment we see what the film could've been if the authors had something to say. But the explosion turns out to be weak and quiet, the dust settles and everything returns to sleepy wandering.

My rating: 5.5.

A charming, dialogue-free look at childhood this Japanese miniature, co-directed by Damien Manivel and Kohei Igarashi, may take it's time but there are few films that take us into the mind of a young child quite as beautifully as this one does. If not very much happens, and if what does happen seems a bit on the fanciful side, it matters not a jot for this is a film that will take you back to a time in your lives that for many is only a distant memory; this is the dreamworld of the childhood of our imaginations. Simplicity itself and really something of a small gem.

It is not necessary, in my opinion, to make a movie for no clear reason when you have no idea what you are doing. The fact that there was no dialogue in the movie and that it took place in the child's world were both things that I liked about it. By delving into the child's viewpoint, the filmmakers captured the innocence, wonder, and unfiltered emotions of childhood; however, the movie is completely boring and lacks any engaging story. It's good that the movie is 1 hour and 20 minutes long, because by the time it's over, you find yourself wondering, "So what?". As the film progressed, the lack of a clear narrative left me questioning the purpose and ultimate impact of the events unfolding before me.