Just managed to grab time to watch my recently arrived copy of $9.99, an animated film based on Etgar Keret’s short fiction screenwritten by the man himself and directed by Tatia Rosenthal.

I’ve only recently discovered Etgar Keret’s stories but am already a big fan of his work. The stop motion animation used in $9.99 perfectly captures the tone of Keret’s fictions, providing a visual medium in which the magical aspects of the stories are at home with the more realistic elements.

$9.99 has far too many wonderful moments and characters to go into here and I wouldn’t want to spoil a minute of it for anyone yet to see it by explaining the plot. Suffice to say it is a touching piece of film that engages the emotions. One scene in particular had me laughing heartily and feeling deeply moved in a matter of seconds. In the words of its director, ‘$9.99 is a one-of-a-kind film. It’s funny. It’s sad. And it’s made of silicon.’

There are also two short films on the DVD from Keret and Rosenthal. I am saving them for another day. Gives me something to look forward to watching.

You can check out the movie’s website here. And here’s the trailer:

If you’re reading this, Nik, thanks for putting me onto $9.99. And to answer your question I did feel a bit sad for the old guy. He had me wanting to pop round to his for a cup of Earl Grey and a chat. Having said that, I loved the last shot of him. Just ace.