Tiny Joys

The idea is hardly original - follow some people who have answered classified ads in a freebie paper and see what happens.

A conjurer wants a car; a gay guy wants a motor bike; a student of music wants a fat girl. There are others, but you forget about them quite quickly.

This is 25-year-old Ibolya Balint’s third documentary. Such an achievement would be impressive in the West, but in a former Soviet satellite state it is inspirational. Sadly the film doesn’t match her ambition.

None of the characters are in any way exceptional and Balint respects their anonymity, dipping a toe into their lives with the utmost discretion. You get to know them a little and, like in soaps, you want more. But you don’t get it.

There is charm, it’s true, and there are running stories that are never resolved. As a patchwork collage of second hand shopping, Tiny Joys is tiny and relatively joyful.