I adored this movie. It is impossible, an absurdist fantasy, a constructed folk tale set in the modern world; and as such, it follows its own internal logic. The humor is crude, feral, and honest. The setting is bleak, unsettling, haunting, and impossibly charming. Two siblings grow up alone on a remote Scottish island after the death of their parents. For 30 years, they created the story of themselves, making sense of their situation. Without adults or other information, their worldview is naive, bizzare, paranoid, and unvarnished by the expectations from the mainland. In comes the desky local council authority to tell them that they have been evicted from the island. What unsues is a fable of what home means beyond a place, what belonging means in a world where stories are not the full truth, what happiness is in a world of fancy words and comfy chairs. It is over the top and also understated. It never skates in the middle, able to throw punches and be gentle. It is a story about learning to be gentle with the stories we tell ourselves. |