Ten Minutes Older by Frank Herz (1978)

Ten Minutes Older, was a classic cinematic experience, that was both delightful and frightful. I couldn't help but feel a nurturing responsibility towards the child, the central character of this documentary, as it experienced a fragile ten minutes.

Constructed to involve us as spectators of a group of children watching what seemed a horror film, but not able to see what the children were observing, we the viewers were left in suspense, only able to judge developments of the story, by observing the children's reactions to what they were watching and by following the suggestive score, that echoed the emotional journey of the children.

What made the film endearing, was the role the central character played, a little three or four year old, who helped create tremendous empathy with the idea. This was emphasised by intuitive camera work. Shot in one long take, key moments were highlighted through tight close-ups, that revealed the sweet face of the central character, experiencing awe, fear and relief as a reaction to what it was watching. In one case the child's eyes were filled with tears, in another it cried out in fear and occasionally the child smiled sweetly. There's no doubt that the film was moving.

Hosted by Land in Focus, as part of a series of experimental Baltic cinema, during the East End Film Festival, in only ten minutes, we observed a child's innocence affected little by little, symbolic of what life might have in store for us as we grow older. It left me wondering whether the child was left emotionally scathed as a result of this filmic experience.