Review: A Ghost and the Boy with a Box on His Head

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Title: A Ghost and a Boy with a Box on His Head
MPAA Rating: N/A
Director: Philip Blue
Starring: Mykal Rees-DaviesCatherine VelardePedro García
Runtime: 1 hr 13 mins

What It Is: Theo (Rees-Davies) meets a girl named Sadie (Velarde) one day at a thrift store. At least he thinks he did. Regardless Theo cannot get Sadie out of his head when Theo begins to start seeing her everywhere. But is he really? His mother doesn’t seem to ever recall meeting a “Sadie”. Is there something wrong with young Theo? Is he imaging the girl of his dream?

What We Think: There’s a very raw sensibility to the film. That’s the first thing you notice. The films unique shooting style mixed with its budget made the whole examination of schizophrenia far more visceral and real. At its core, there is a love story and its one that whether real or imagined is nonetheless adorable. Rees-Davies and Velarde have a chemistry akin to what you’d find in one of my favorite films Wristcutters: A Love Story. Blue, who wrote and directed this does an excellent job of making us care for Theo. He also seems assured in the editing room cutting the narrative together and making a heartbreaker of a film.

Our Grade: B-, This was a very surprising film! Not only does the music in this help establish a tone but it’s awesome music. These are tunes you can listen to outside of the film themselves. I am going to recommend this film most assuredly. The perfect fit for anyone looking for a smaller film experience that brings everything together really well. I cannot wait to see what Blue will do next. Speaking of which check out our interview below with Philip Blue.

 


INTERVIEW WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR PHILIP BLUE

The film has an obvious undertone of discussing mental illness was this intentional? If so what was the intent?
We set out to make a film about how flexible “reality” can be, about how we all constantly create our own [reality] depending on our state of mind. We framed the film around schizophrenia since we saw it as the most literal example of reality by proxy.
According to the films, IMDb this films finished in 2015 what took so long to finish distribution?
We finished the film in 2015 and did a festival run for a full year where we found distribution before the year’s end. Locking a release date took another year after that from having to negotiate, finish the deliverables and finding a date that made sense.
Let’s talk a bit about you as a creator. What, and to an extent who inspires you as a filmmaker?
I saw the film as a medium to create, not so much an end. It’s the platform with the most senses to affect, so it seemed like the best fit for this story.
If you could only pick two films two watch for the remainder of your time on Earth what would you pick?
“Where the wild things are” and “Science of Sleep”. I’ll die happy.
As I’d mention to you before I LOVE the film’s soundtrack what are some soundtracks from other films you enjoy?
Her had a beautiful soundtrack, and any Wes Anderson film haha.
For those interested where can they check out this excellent film? Also, why should they? Pitch it to us!
We’re available in all English/Spanish/French territories worldwide on iTunes. Amazon/Vudu/google play in most territories as well! The movie is worth checking out for a raw look into the mind of a schizophrenic in love. Since we all create our own reality, especially when it comes to love.

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