10 Again

Memories of childhood are captured in three segments, using grown-ups' voice over narratives that sound natural, despite director Simon Ellis and Gail Thornley being credited as scriptwriters.

Each mini-short touches a moment in a 10-year-old's life, when embarrassment, or the mystery of what has become known as rites-of-passage, is especially acute. Ellis uses a clever device, originated in Tom & Jerry cartoons, of never showing the face of adults.

In this child world, a girl is mortified after buying her first bra, a couple of friends torment two girls in a tent with squash racquets and a seven-year-old follows his elder brother across the fields to deliver a message at "Samantha's house."

The young actors are unselfconscious and easy in front of the camera. By using narrative voices, Ellis avoids the risk of botched lines, or school play diction. The incidents are neither earth shattering, nor emotionally damaging, but part of what makes up "a childhood," where small things have an unexpected importance.