Just as lo-fi was once an indicator of indie authenticity in the realm of recorded music, the Tarantinoian idea of reviving the use of actual film stock will automatically strike some movie fans as a demonstration of genuine moviemaking rigor in this digital age. From a purely procedural aspect it does carry more weight. A director can keep demanding takes until the cows come home on digital without any serious financial burden (other than that related to staff and cast compensation for their extra time), while every take on an actual “film set” will cost money in terms of stock and processing. This was one of the first things that occurred to me during the opening credits of newcomer Weston Razooli’s kids adventure epic. In bold orange type the film proudly announces it was shot on 16mm Kodak film. The proof is in the pudding of the ultra-low budget production design and presentation, which occasionally falls to the level of the truly bad. Moreover, the acting is about school play grade, including the performances by the adults, and you can tell Razooli didn’t have the economic backing to reshoot some scenes that are completely incoherent due to botched line readings and on-screen talent accidentally glancing into the camera lens.

But sometimes accidents work to a movie’s advantage, and the plot and direction of Riddle of Fire (a title that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the story) complement the amateurish production values in a way that adds to its charm and, dare I say, poignancy. The film has the look of something made in the 70s, but it takes place right now, centered on a trio of foul-mouthed, pre-adolescent delinquents-in-the-making whose determination to play a video game they’ve stolen from a warehouse sends them on an odyssey of mischievous larceny and challenge to adult authority that will have you cheering their cheeky resourcefulness. The plot, which incorporates elements of medieval fantasy and Little Rascals/Stranger Things rambunctiousness, could have been written by a bunch of kids who just wanted to make their own movie, and so develops by dint of its own immature logic, free from the strictures of mediated credibility. Armed with paint-ball guns and riding souped up mini-bikes, Alice (Phoebe Ferro) and brothers Hazel (Charlie Stover) and Jodie (Skyler Peters, convey cocky confidence in their own powers of survival as they take on an actual coven of witches who poach wild animals to support their illegal taxidermy business, though the kids’ main adversary in trying to steal a speckled egg in the coven’s possession in order to make a blueberry pie for Hazel and Jodie’s bedridden single mom (don’t ask) is a rude, cowboy-hatted ex-con named John Redrye (Charles Halford) who acts as the coven’s bagman and muscle, though conveniently for the sake of the movie he’s also rather dim. “He looks like he plays the jug in a hootenany band,” is Hazel’s withering first impression. And while these various dynamics intersect in a comical manner, there is also tension and some scenes of acute discomfort as our three heroes’ impulsiveness gets them into real danger. There’s also a well-handled sentimental thread involving the head witch’s (Lio Tipton) very young daughter, Petal Hollyhock (Lorelie Olivia Mote), helping the ragamuffins achieve their goals out of a sense of budding friendship because her mother has kept her isolated and home-schooled her whole life. 

In terms of pure momentum, Razooli (who also plays the head witch’s good-for-nothing brother and gives himself the best lines) keeps the action flowing and has a fine command of montage and camera movement that suggests he could have made something commercially viable if more money were at his disposal, but as it is Riddle of Fire is not only a promising debut, but a uniquely entertaining film experience the likes of which would not have been possible if it had been backed by a studio. In that case, it likely would have ended up like a Stranger Things episode directed by Quentin Tarantino, which, I’ll admit, is something I’d love to see, but it wouldn’t have been as interesting as this. 

Now playing in Tokyo at Shinjuku Musashinokan (03-3354-5670), Human Trust Cinema Shibuya (03-5468-5551).

Riddle of Fire home page in Japanese

photo (c) Riley Can You Hear Me? LLC