It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Etgar Keret and his casual magic realism. The Israeli author, whose short stores range from lighthearted and whimsical, to sad and introspective, has seen his works turned into graphic novels and motion pictures. Now, years after adapting Keret’s 1998’s story Kneller’s Happy Campers into the fun, but ultimately unsatisfying, Wristcutters: A Love Story, writer/director Goran Dukic has returned to Keret’s world of misanthropes and romantics with What Do We Have In Our Pockets.
Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Pockets, based on the short story of same name from 2012’s Suddenly, A Knock At The Door, begins as a seemingly mundane inventory of the narrator’s pocket, before quickly becoming a quirky love story. “Quickly” is the operative word here; While Dukic’s Wristcutters (only 88 minutes long) felt slow and plodding at points, Pockets feels perfectly effortless – no wonder, considering it clocks in at just under four minutes. While veering dangerously close to “twee” territory, Dukic manages to retain Keret’s sense of whimsey without losing any of his profundity. It’s a tough tightrope act to pull off, but here it works wonderfully.
Take a look…
[Cover image via Screenshot]
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