Down Down the Deep River (2014) Online

This movie confirms what science has proven generations ago: kids with freckles have no friends. Because of the director's fastidious attention to continuity he routinely dressed up our freckle faced antihero in turtle necks, calf socks, and fitted him with a perfect bowl cut. The movie set was complete with a solar system mobile over his bed and shelves filled with books.

There's no dialogue in this movie. I mean zero. We don't even know the boys name. He's literally listed as "The Boy" in the credits. The Boy doesn't need dialogue. He's got big, brown doey eyes that convey more than words ever could about the deep river of his childhood angst.

As far as his spineless ex best friend, I hope he ends up in jail. If it's one thing I'm damn sure of is that any man that is a fan of C.H.U.D is no friend of mine. All goldilocks with his plain skin ever contributed to the relationship anyways was an old cooler and some bad drawings. Good riddance.

Honestly, tho. This is a real gem of a movie. Very well done.

This is a lovable short film courtesy of Will Sheff, the man behind Okkervil River, who spent his youth growing up in New Hampshire in the 1980s and wrote the band's latest album, "The Silver Gymnasium", about this experience; this short film is a kind of appendix to that album, where we get to follow a boy through friendship and beyond, to what communicating without words is about, while delving through a barrage or 1980s nick-nacks.

All in all, I think the film suffers a little from all the 1980s regalia everywhere, as though they would make for a better film; that's just a mini gripe, as the film itself is really strong through the choice to not use much dialogue, and for bringing out what being a kid could be like, for good and bad.