Simon, a clumsy and slightly backward boy, joins his young playmates in their games in the woods, but is tormented and finally abandoned by them. In this experimental film, the children were given only a rough outline of each scene and themselves improvised the details. The central theme of bullying and group cruelty pinpoints a private purgatory familiar to every child. The beauty of the woodlands where the action takes place symbolises the supposedly innocent natures of children, stressing the disillusioning contrast with their behaviour.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
009822
Language
English
Subject categories
Experimental → Experimental films - Great Britain
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Child psychology
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Aggressiveness (Psychology) in children
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Child psychology
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Identity (Psychology) in children
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)