07 Jan 2015
Director: Clio Barnard
UK
2013
91 min
The Selfish Giant tells the tale of Arbor and Swifty, two young boys growing up in Yorkshire. Struggling to fit in at school, and each facing their own challenges at home, the two friends find their seemingly directionless lives given dubious purpose when they meet a local scrapdealer, Kitten, from whom they learn of the lucrative demand for copper wire. Recalling the social realism of Ken Loach’s Kes, director Barnard finds an understated beauty in her austere landscapes but perhaps the most striking aspects of the film are the astonishing performances from Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas as Arbor and Swifty.