Time Traveller

Martin (Tom Doran) and his family are facing eviction from the site where he's lived his whole life. It's tough for him to understand why. "They just don't like us and the way we live," his father says, swallowing his own frustrations, generously putting it down to misunderstanding and fear. A local woman shouts at the boy when he tries to take something she's throwing out, treating him like a thief. He just wants it so that he can finish his project before being forced to abandon it. There's not much time left and he's building a time machine.

Steve Kenny's affectionate tale of a boy obsessed with Back To The Future combines a plea for understanding with a portrait of a family in crisis. As the travellers face hostility from the locals, tension develops between Martin and his brother. Nobody really understands why the time machine is so important - but to Martin it's all about the idea of changing things to make life better for one's family. His father's gradual journey to understanding this suggests that there's real power in the machine whether or not it will work in the way Martin hopes.

Understated performances and natural chemistry between Doran and Barry Ward, who plays his father, turn a story that could have been twee into something heartfelt. Piers McGrail's cinematography and the way Kenny frames the stark landscape create a setting whose importance to the family is clearly visible, yet which is plain enough to make one wonder at the pettiness of people fighting over it. One can understand how Martin's machine might be considered an eyesore, yet Kenny invites the viewer to make that imaginative leap and understand it as a child's pride and joy, as a source of hope or salvation.

Finding strength in simplicity, this is a small film with a lot of heart. Martin may be written off as a soft boy by his brother but his different approach to dealing with conflict positions him as someone who is simply ahead of his time.