The War Game

This is quite an eerily compelling short feature from Mai Zetterling. Two young lads are playing when one drops his toy gun and they begin to tussle over it. The victor heads up into a nearby skyscraper only to be followed by his pal and as they go higher and leave it’s public areas for the less safe areas around the lift mechanism and the roof their game becomes more tense, perilous even, as even a gust of wind could bring disaster. There’s no dialogue, just natural sound and some intensely photographed camerawork atop the building where one wrong move could end in splat. Ian Ellis and Joseph Robinson manage to use their childish playfulness to exude quite a degree of menace as at times you wonder to what lengths they might go to retrieve or retain the prize. Certainly not one if you don’t like heights, but it’s that very vulnerability that gives this quite a kick.