The Silence Of Sons

This is a Polish-language stop motion short, beautifully made, tonally-perfect, and, though feeling somewhat dated, an impressive evocation of mood. Its other title is Zbigniev's Cupboard, with good reason: Zbigniev is a hoarder, clutching his pictorial coupons to him tightly, dallying with the black market among the endless queues. When his cupboard arrives, his life seems complete, but he is ignoring his father in the process. The chess set his father whittled sits awaiting his move, but things don't work out as well as might be hoped.

The character design is stunning, whorls and loops like wood on the faces, exterior scenes like a Lowry in three dimensions, industrial Eastern European architecture with queues of sticklike figures stretching off to the horizons. All of the design is impressive, set dressing, landscapes - visually this is one of the best short films at the Edinburgh Film Festival, so distinctive in its appearance that it will leave you wanting more.

Interactions with the ghouls of the black market, the coupon based economy of what one assumes is an allegorical, if not an actual, Poland under Soviet domination, the balance of communication between fathers and sons, greed, regret, abandonment - this is a powerful little film, a hand-made treasure.

Magdalena Osi?ska directs, and is credited with the character design. Both are virtually flawless. Duncan Barret's script isn't wordy, Jean-Marc Petsas' score conveys plenty. However, even without sound this would work - with subtitles because of its Polish dialogue this film could be enjoyed silently, and the visual design is so striking that it would be easy to focus on little else. That would be to miss a complete treat.