I managed to catch a showing of 'Morning Praise' whilst attending the Portobello Film Festival in London, and I must admit, I was not expecting to see what I saw. With these types of festivals, Portobello especially, there's always a mix of fun, amateur comedy films, all shot on video and generally non-ambitious in terms of real film-making.
This particular film stood out from the crowd... a mile out! It was actually refreshing to finally see something dark, morbid and extremely sophisticated.
Daniel Smalley's debut film is a deep, psychological and disturbing journey; challenging the viewer to question the existence of religion - and more controversially - the existence of God.
The story, which is both written, produced and directed by Daniel Smalley, follows a young Cancer victim, Alex, as she escapes hospital during her last few days in order to visit a place that was sacred to her as a young girl. There, she enters a surreal fantasy world and confronts God with questions about these 'macabre games he plays' with truly innocent people. It even goes as far as to suggest God has been overthrown by a 'deputy' and that Satan now rules Heaven with a cruel delight, handing out death to whomever he pleases - however innocent they are.
Big ideas... Big questions... Big concepts... Challenging film-making.
All of this, coupled by an amazing performance from his lead actress, Nicola Daley, who not only looks terminally ill, but expresses so much anger and passion in her words that you truly feel for her, right up until her suicide at the end of the film.
Not the sort of thing you expect at a low-profile event such as the Portobello Film Festival.
The visuals are truly stunning, and then there's the absolutely beautiful music composed especially for the film by composer Zoe Searle-Barnes. Think Lisa Gerrard and Kate Bush all rolled into one, with an atmosphere so dark and brooding that you cannot help but feel something's terribly wrong with Alex's situation.
I cannot stress enough how challenging and ambitious this little film is. If you ever get a chance to see it, then believe me, you won't forget it.
This is film-making on the edge, and truly demonstrates the undeniable talent of an amazing young writer/director.
What a debut!
This particular film stood out from the crowd... a mile out! It was actually refreshing to finally see something dark, morbid and extremely sophisticated.
Daniel Smalley's debut film is a deep, psychological and disturbing journey; challenging the viewer to question the existence of religion - and more controversially - the existence of God.
The story, which is both written, produced and directed by Daniel Smalley, follows a young Cancer victim, Alex, as she escapes hospital during her last few days in order to visit a place that was sacred to her as a young girl. There, she enters a surreal fantasy world and confronts God with questions about these 'macabre games he plays' with truly innocent people. It even goes as far as to suggest God has been overthrown by a 'deputy' and that Satan now rules Heaven with a cruel delight, handing out death to whomever he pleases - however innocent they are.
Big ideas... Big questions... Big concepts... Challenging film-making.
All of this, coupled by an amazing performance from his lead actress, Nicola Daley, who not only looks terminally ill, but expresses so much anger and passion in her words that you truly feel for her, right up until her suicide at the end of the film.
Not the sort of thing you expect at a low-profile event such as the Portobello Film Festival.
The visuals are truly stunning, and then there's the absolutely beautiful music composed especially for the film by composer Zoe Searle-Barnes. Think Lisa Gerrard and Kate Bush all rolled into one, with an atmosphere so dark and brooding that you cannot help but feel something's terribly wrong with Alex's situation.
I cannot stress enough how challenging and ambitious this little film is. If you ever get a chance to see it, then believe me, you won't forget it.
This is film-making on the edge, and truly demonstrates the undeniable talent of an amazing young writer/director.
What a debut!