Resuming the short film series with a review of the Brian Paul`s – ” The Puzzle “. Having recently read ( listened to ) the book ” A child called it ” by Dave Pelzer made the story of ” The Puzzle ” – even more touching that it already was. The story in the film by Brian Paul is a young troubled boy who is leaving alone with his abusive dad. The director did an excellent job in portraying the horror the boy is living at – making me effectively hate the man who mistreated his son. One of the father`s phrases directed to the boy was : ” When are you going to learn who is boss ” – which indicated that this attitude toward the boy was nothing new to him. Soon we also learn that the father is a drug junkie who cares only of the money he gets for ” taking care ” of his son. As a back drop but in itself an important prop of the film we see the hobby of the boy – completing puzzles . In them he finds his escape – escape from the reality he is forced to live at. But nothing really changes – until one day a mysterious stranger gives the lad a new special puzzle …
Overall I liked the film of Bryan Paul as it told a touching story in a very creative way. The soundtrack was good – effectively building tension when needed.
I would like to thank CVMC for providing the DVD ” Love Child and other shorts” which includes the film above. This review would not have been possible without their support. As the film was made available online by its director – you may watch it below. Don`t forget to leave comments with your opinion about it.