Mark Cousins explores cinemas depictions of childhood and what those childhood depictions teach us about cinema.
Less a documentary more a cine-essay, starting with a home video of his niece and nephew seen through the eyes of Vincent van Gogh. This intimate work looks at the multiple aspects of childhood from their surrealism and fun through to their loneliness and destructiveness.
Cousins’ core premise that cinema has best portrayed children because at heart children are fundamentally cinematic is played out through 53 films and 25 countries, from Hollywood, Europe to the Middle-East, taking the viewer through a collage of film that is both informative and poetic.
The film’s non-linear approach uses Cousins’ home video as a starting point, but its scope certainly isn’t limited by the initial metaphor. What a scope it has, as well using Western classics such as ET: The Extra-Terrestrial and The Night of the Hunter, Cousins draws examples from as far afield as Iran’s The White Balloon by Jafar Panahi and Japan’s Nobody Knows by Hirokazu Koreeda.
This doesn’t just reinforce Cousins’ central premise but also shows how childhood depictions are found in all countries and all nations, some of which are better at portraying certain aspects childhood than others.
Blessed with that gentle Irish tone Cousins’ commentary is expertly delivered and at no times patronising to his audience. The editing is precise as the film moves along at steady pace, giving the viewer enough time to take in each individual piece without cutting away too soon or out staying its welcome.
The film steers clear of sentimentalism but neither does it venture near darker areas, with films like The Lord of the Flies or even Child’s Play 3 left untouched. But, the film does illustrate how cinema can be viewed differently and should hopefully encourage people to view cinema in a different way.
Cousins’ follow up to his epic The Story of Film is as intimate as it is intelligent and as personal as it poetic. It should be viewed by all cinema enthusiasts.
Enjoy this article? Then why not sign up to Fortitude Magazine’s Weekly Round Up! Our pick of the week’s best news, reviews, videos and music straight to your inbox. Click here to sign up today!