Quote from BabyShark on April 16, 2022, 12:42 pm

I watched this movie on DVD nearly 20 years ago for the first time, and then again recently after 2 decades of living.

You see things from a more aged vantage point that you miss as a younger viewer, like for instance that these two characters are basically deranged, and that the stuff they do displays their damage, which they were, each in their own way, abused children who find a solace in each other.

Two children form an unusual bond amidst their own personal agony, are drawn to each other and "the game".

They dare each other to do things that give them, finally, a sense of being accepted and important, having a thrilling mission from a co-conspirator in a lonely and painful world. The dares become increasingly provocative and dangerous and center around a little round metal carousel-shaped tin that gets passed back and forth across their lives.

In spite of their bond and feelings for each other, their damaged natures prevent them from being able to be together or to experience a normal friendship with each other, and their togetherness is part addiction to the thrill of the game and part a toxic chain holding them to a self-destructive bond.

The movie has fantastical elements that combine imagination and reality in a cinematic treat for artsy film enthusiasts.

I had wanted to rewatch this movie, watching the trailer and reading reviews now and then for some years before I actually went ahead and ordered the DVD online since I couldn't find it available anywhere online to buy and watch in my country even though I looked numerous times.

Your heart breaks for the suffering of the characters as children and you feel the rapture in their discovery of each other and the game and the connection they formed over it that helped them escape their pain.

I remember the reviews of this movie being generally very high or very low. People loved it or hated it, 5 stars or zero. Many judged the characters as psychotic, unhealthy, and the entire premise as disgusting. I can see that. I was one of those who sees the story, feels the story, and appreciates the uncommon telling of this atypical tale that focuses on two childhood friends who were too broken to be able to love each other in a normal way, but who loved and needed each other all the same.