BIRMINGHAM FILM FESTIVAL

Charles Teton's modest yet very likeable debut feature is to be admired for refusing to fit into any of the critical pigeonholes assigned to recent examples of British independent film-making. Indeed, it could be argued that it's the film's apparent contradictions and sense of mismatch that are it's main source of interest. Shot on a shoestring budget (though luxuriously filmed in Widescreen Technovision) and set in a harsh yet strangely beautiful Liverpool, it's an inter-racial romance in which love is thwarted not by racism or other social ills, but by fate.

Abe (Steve Ako) is a young black man who works as a mechanic in a scrap yard and harbours dreams of becoming a professional boxer. He begins an affair with his boss's daughter, Jess (Joeline Garner-Joel), and the film sketches the ups and downs in their relationship over the summer months. Totally unremarkable, you might think, but the surprise of the film has to do with the way in which Teton's beautifully composed images, and touching sympathy for the quiet dignity of his characters manage to avoid the trap of dour British realism.

Ralph E West.