The read
Audiences rate it 14 points higher than critics do. It runs a compact 39m.
Synopsis
A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.
Ratings
Audiences rate it 14 points higher than critics do.
31 audience votes
Key crew
- Keith MeltonDirector
- Steve RobertsWriter
- Peter WaggWriter
- Benoit JutrasOriginal Music Composer
Cast
- Ian McKellenNarrator (voice)
- Nicky DewhurstYoung Man
- Brian Dewhurst Old Man
- Anait KaragyezyanVagabond Girl
- Chris Van WagenenYouth
- Cully SmollerInfant / Child
- Kenny RaskinMan
- Mikhail MatorinCube Act