With the unusual camera angles there were several images, which include a large portion of sky. This is a nice aesthetic choice – as children exercising their imagination often lie on their backs looking up at the sky. However, many of the shots in this film that included a lot of the sky also suffered a bit of washout. This is often difficult to avoid when shooting out of doors, but could become manageable by the use of a still, rather than stationary, camera. Or, a solution that might also help if recording in motion is desired – an ND (neutral density) filter on the lens would cut down on the amount of sunlight let into the camera, and help neutralize the overly bright areas.
Use of Audio
Perhaps one of this film’s greatest assets – and effects – is its soundtrack. There is music playing constantly throughout, but it fits both the mood and action of the child very well. The effect is both of a child stuck in his own little world – essentially a soundtrack that plays in the boys head – and also an overall eerie feel to what would otherwise be rather confusing imagery.
There were some good sound effects as well – the sound of swishing grass as the boy runs through the field and the electronic sounds that are made by a stuffed teddy bear with electronically moving arms. It is an interesting scene when the boy stumbles across this toy in the field – something that is probably his own – and its noises are the only ones that he can actually hear, apart from the ever-present soundtrack. Yet again, a very subtle way to reinforce the child’s isolated sense of being.
The only downside of the soundtrack, however, was its occasional shrill noises. While this feedback-esque single note is a convention often used in horror films to enhance the creepy effect, at several times it gets to be so loud that one must either cover ones ears or even mute the volume. This is something that needs addressing, as some people are very sensitive to these types of noises, and the last thing one wants to do is to cause an audience member to turn off a film simply because of an audio effect. In addition, there are a few instances where the audio seems to have a crackling noise. Whether this was done on purpose is unclear, but it seems to be a mistake, especially since it does not appear at any other point throughout the film.
Use of Budget
Half of this film’s budget was used on transportation for cast and crew. The rest was spent on costumes and Kraft services. The final result was quite decent for such a low budget of $300. However, the few glaring visual issues already mentioned, in my opinion, demand a bit more attention, particularly the blurry images, which did not appear to be done on purpose.
Lasting Appeal
Although this film initially appears confusing and rather odd to the average viewer, those with artistic backgrounds can definitely appreciate the subtlety of the point being made in Mercurio. I would be very interested to know what a viewer with higher-functioning autism - or a very good understanding of the disease - might make of a film like this and how close the filmmakers were able to get to an accurate portrayal.
While there are the aforementioned issues that need to be addressed and it’s possible that this film may not find a wide following among more mainstream audiences, but, with some more work, it has enough unique elements to attract a decent-sized following.
Overall Comment
Trying to capture the world of an autistic child is challenging enough, let alone integrating that goal with the more complex theme of UFOs and crop circles. It is a difficult task to begin with, and this film addressed both themes in a unique and creative way.
