Riddle of Fire
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About
Director: Weston Razooli Run Time: 113 min.
Release Year:
2024
Starring: Charles Halford, Charlie Stover, Danielle Hoetmar, Lio Tipton, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Phoebe Ferro, Skyler Peters
A lot of fantasy narratives feel like a regular story that has been infused with fairy dust, but RIDDLE OF FIRE is a wonderfully quirky movie that seems like the opposite effect has happened. The brave adventurers are a quartet of bored kids. The quest-giving princess is someone’s sick mom. The treasure they seek is a blueberry pie and the witches and ogres have become druggies and bikers. Shot on 16mm in the style of a 1970s live-action Disney adventure, RIDDLE OF FIRE is like a children’s film from another dimension—and a sheer delight.
“Evokes the sensation of tuning into a late-night broadcast of an obscure and wackadoo children’s film from another dimension. Amblin’ through a menagerie of esoteric genres and cult-film references, and unified by a precise, nostalgic mise en scène that might be described as “Wes Anderson’s Gummo,” its charisma crystalizes in the raw, unpracticed performances of its young cast. The sweet air of artifice to their gleeful recitations of Razooli’s charmingly verbose dialogue paradoxically assumes an endearing kind of meta-naturalism. Intermittent line-flubs are preserved, as are the winning infectious grins of kids having the best summer of their lives.” – Peter Kuplowsky, Toronto International Film Festival
Release Year:
2024
Starring: Charles Halford, Charlie Stover, Danielle Hoetmar, Lio Tipton, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Phoebe Ferro, Skyler Peters
A lot of fantasy narratives feel like a regular story that has been infused with fairy dust, but RIDDLE OF FIRE is a wonderfully quirky movie that seems like the opposite effect has happened. The brave adventurers are a quartet of bored kids. The quest-giving princess is someone’s sick mom. The treasure they seek is a blueberry pie and the witches and ogres have become druggies and bikers. Shot on 16mm in the style of a 1970s live-action Disney adventure, RIDDLE OF FIRE is like a children’s film from another dimension—and a sheer delight.
“Evokes the sensation of tuning into a late-night broadcast of an obscure and wackadoo children’s film from another dimension. Amblin’ through a menagerie of esoteric genres and cult-film references, and unified by a precise, nostalgic mise en scène that might be described as “Wes Anderson’s Gummo,” its charisma crystalizes in the raw, unpracticed performances of its young cast. The sweet air of artifice to their gleeful recitations of Razooli’s charmingly verbose dialogue paradoxically assumes an endearing kind of meta-naturalism. Intermittent line-flubs are preserved, as are the winning infectious grins of kids having the best summer of their lives.” – Peter Kuplowsky, Toronto International Film Festival
