Tiddlywinks

A short film made in Sweden

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• short
• film

[Aritro77]

The film highlights the universality of its themes by subverting the specificity of its rural Swedish setting as at least one actor delivers all his lines in a middle class southern English accent

[Aritro77]

As tensions simmer and rivalries spiral out of control, all the rules are broken as the film builds to a shocking crescendo, particularly the one about superglueing 50 pence pieces to the table during a game of tiddlywinks.

[Aritro77]

The 'is he or isn't he?' theme is given further gravitas upon the arrival of an unnamed transgender tiddlywinks champion, whose bobbing Adam's apple and elegant black dress immediately capture Marty's attention and complete a most bizzare love triangle.

[Aritro77]

The cash-in sequel should be about hopscotch.

[Aritro77]

The 'is he or isn't he?' theme is given further gravitas upon the arrival of an unnamed transgender tiddlywinks champion, whose bobbing Adam's apple and elegant black dress immediately capture Marty's attention and complete a most bizzare love triangle. The buxom Geri Attrick is particularly captivating as she deals with the trials of adolescent life, as is poignantly illustrated when she runs up the staircase, her impressive mammaries bouncing to the beat of life's ups and downs.

[Aritro77]

There is a dangerous hint of tension crackling under the surface as Marty and Geri snap at each other and quibble over matters of bottle top. The film delicately examines issues of confused identity and sexual stigma as the openly homosexual Marty struggles to come to terms with his feelings for Geri, as well as attempting to reconcile his preference for playing with dolls with the masculine posturing that afflicts the sport of tiddlywinks as much as it does football or rugby.

[Aritro77]

The film focuses instead on such universal themes as love, identity and sexuality in this examination of adolescent life, while the thrilling tiddlywinks action adds thrust to the foreground narrative. There are shades of Rupert Everett in the performance of floppy-haired protagonist Marty Gras, whose tiddlywink rivalry with co-star Geri Atrick reflects the broader sexual interplay between the two lead characters.

[Aritro77]

A rite of passage film in the best tradition of 'Reality Bites' and 'Garden State', this low-budget student effort centres on the intertwining lives of four youths who descend on a desolate manor in rural Sweden to pit their wits against each other in the Tiddlywinks world championship. Though it is essentially a sports film, this project thankfully approaches it from a fresh perspective, dispensing with the cheesy underdog theme and last minute showdownism that usually mar this tired genre.