Title: The Place of No Words
Written by: Mark Webber
Release date: October 23, 2020
At some point in 2018, I was doing a deep dive on Instagram, looking for creature designs to act as inspiration for my novel ‘Piece of Me.’ A story set in a world of snow and ice, where a woman waits for here husband and son to return after disappearing on a hunting trip a decade prior. While searching, I came across this photo;
(Image retrieved from The Place of No Words Instagram page)
I was hooked. It had a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’/ ‘Labyrinth’ vibe and I immediately followed the page and began to follow the journey. At that time, the movie was titled ‘Freeka Reeka Sheeka Deeka and The Big Battle in the Forest.’
(Image retrieved from The Place of No Words Instagram page.)
As I began to watch this gorgeous film being made, then travel the world and become a film festival sensation, I began to feel something that I’d not felt in a long, long time.
When I was growing up, in the middle of nowhere in a small town in British Columbia, movies were my escape. Legend, The Last Unicorn, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and The Neverending Story were films that took me from the forest world at the base of the mountain, to these fantastical locations and worlds.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve fallen out of love of cinema and really dove deep into the fiction/literature world. I read a lot, review a lot and write a lot, but I simply struggle to find engagement in movies like I did in the past. I can count on my hands the number of movies I’ve watched over the last few years that I enjoyed and can’t even remember how many I’ve turned off after a half hour.
What I’m trying to say, is that from day one, of discovering this production, I’ve been absolutely giddy at the prospect of watching this.
Now, things change in peoples lives. I’m now a 39 year old man, struggling with life’s issues. I have a fantastic 4 year old son, an amazing wife and a wonderful dog. But life has its ways of forcing depression and anxiety down your throat.
As of writing this, we’re almost exactly four months past when my father in law passed away unexpectedly and it’s safe to say, we’re struggling with it, my wife more so.
Add in the fact, that when my son was born, him and my wife died. It’s a completely insane sentence to type, but it was an even more chaotic experience to live through. Everything was going fine, then a second later, they lost all signs of my son. My wife struggled to breathe, her face going red and ballooning. She was rushed away, a suspected pulmonary embolism deciding to take her and him away from me. I waited in agony until they managed to bring them both back. Now, every birthday is a wonderous moment.
What I’m trying to say here, is that how you’re life has been and the experiences you’ve had will directly influence how you see this movie.
As I typically review books, I’ll follow the same format as that’s how my brain functions.
First, here’s the trailer;
What I liked: The movie follows along as a father is in the last clutches of what I can only assume is Cancer. His wife and son struggle to equate the man they see with the man he used to be. The movie is told through the eyes of the son, Bodhi, Mark Webber’s real life son. Bodhi is fantastic in this and the interactions between father and son are genuinely pure joy to watch.
As the story progresses, we get some emotionally charged back pieces, moments of bliss, agony and devastation and the fantasy elements in here are so sublime.
I was going to watch this over two nights, as I typically don’t get much free time, but I was unable to tear my eyes away from this, even as they became filled with tears.
This movie is such an amazing look at both the inner workings of a four year old’s make believe mind, but also grief and the tendrils that grow out from the source.
What I didn’t like: Honestly, I loved absolutely everything about this movie, so let’s be picky! There were a few moments in this movie that were really dark and hard to see. A minor issue, but I need to find something, right?
Why you should buy this: Mark Webber and the entire cast and crew have really created something truly magical. This had odes to The Neverending Story, Labyrinth and numerous other movies from my youth. Stunning cinematography, this movie was just outstanding and one I’ll be buying once on Blu-Ray.
This is a movie that’s going to stay with me for a very, very long time.
Currently available to stream in the US and Canada at these places, I highly recommend you take a look!
5/5
More info here;
Steve Stred - The Official Website 