Heidi

Childhood is not a state and a time that never returns, but a state and the ability to see the world with a child's heart and everything in front of you becomes pure and bright. We have had all kinds of traumas, but we should be happy today. -- Wang Zengqi

Charming & perfectly cast lead actress; Anuk embodies her character in every shot. Fabulous music which, together with excellent sound design, plunges us immediately into the theme of the story. Right away, we know of her love for nature and her childlike love for all beauty.

The only blight on the beauty is the poor cinematography in the first fourth of the film, where we're restricted to telephoto extreme closeups in a setting pleading for wide vistas and generous space. The wide frame and narrow vertical dimension require a shorter lens to keep all points of interest in the shot, but the cinematographer simply allows characters to drop out of frame. We often feel we are spying through the slot of a basket in which we are hiding. Claustrophobic shots should have been reserved for the winter portion and Farnkfurt, when Heidi feels trapped inside. Strangely, that initial fourth is the only portion of the film where we are restrained while the characters are free.