On the Sly (U) 77 mins ***
An oddly charming curio, this: an English dub of a
live-action French film observed entirely from its overlooked heroine’s
perspective. At the end of a weekend family retreat, knee-high Cathy (Wynona Ringer,
the director’s daughter) stages a rebellion of sorts, running off to the woods when her parents leave for home. What follows is
rather like a Gallic Home Alone,
sidelining any parental panic in favour of tiny, telling asides on how the
young register time and basic tasks differently. The editorial pleas to pay
proper attention to the seeds one plants are heavily underlined, but Ringer has
an endearing presence: her uncertain scrabbling yields something both more
truthful and spontaneous than Moonrise
Kingdom, this season’s pre-eminent runaway success, on the subject of how
we all once approached the world.
On the Sly is on selected release.
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