Director: Weston Razooli
Writer: Weston Razooli
Stars: Lio Tipton, Weston Razooli, Charles Halford
Synopsis: Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.
I think most of us are very protective of our childhoods, especially our outdoor adventures with our friends and neighbors. The combination of wonderment, consternation, and curiosity creates a fantasy-like atmosphere to those ventures – climbing trees, running on the hot summer days, and skateboarding through the neighborhood, amongst other activities I indulged in. There’s some magic to it, one that cannot be replicated as we grow older. Yet those memories are left intact and can transport us back from time to time. Many directors have tried to replicate this feeling with their films. But, on most occasions, they never tend to capture that aspect of imagination and daydreaming within each person’s childhood escapades. And that’s where Weston Razooli and his feature-length debut, Riddle of Fire, come into play.
American writer/director Razooli uncovers the magic behind children’s creativity, delivering a playful, fanciful original film, even though it grows a tad weary. It is an odyssey about friendship and those memories from “back in the day” that we hold dearly. And it all begins with three young balaclava-wearing rascals from Ribbon, Wyoming – Hazel (Charlie Stover), Alice (Phoebe Ferro), and Jodie (Skyler Peters) – who are hanging out during their summer vacation. They have created a “gang” named the “Three Immortal Reptiles”, taking the name from the animal claw necklaces they hang around their necks. This trinity of mischief-making younglings ride around the plains on their dirt bikes and carry paintball guns as weapons, in case of trouble (or if they just want to bother someone).
These rascals have performed many capers during their summers together. But they will remember their latest venture for a long, long time. The events in Riddle of Fire begin when they end up stealing a newly released video game console from a nearby warehouse – sneaking around, hiding from a security guard, and ending up with the goods. The trio are excited to sit around the TV and play video games until the night comes. However, some difficulties stand in their way. For starters, the television has been password-protected by Jodie’s mother, Julie (Danielle Hoetmer), who is currently bedridden and wants the kids to spend their time outside rather than spend all day gaming. But she has an offer that they can’t refuse.
Julie asks for a blueberry pie from her favorite bakery – a treat that always brightened her day when she was younger – and she will let them play with the new console for two hours. When they notice that the bakery is all out of pies, the trio decide not to give up on the mission and bake the pie themselves, as a token of appreciation might be of more value than buying the treat (and they could potentially haggle some more playing time because of it). So, they get every ingredient needed to bake the pie, except for a speckled egg taken by a man named John Redrye (Charles Halford). The kids beg him for the eggs, but the stranger refuses. Full of spite and vigor, the “Three Immortal Reptiles” decided to follow him home and steal what he took from them.
What transpires is an adventure in the Utah mountains that involves a poaching ring, a taxidermist cult named the “Enchanted Blade Gang,” a fairy hidden in the woods, and many sparks of imaginative, while cluttered, independent filmmaking by Weston Razooli. Arriving with the tagline “The Coolest Debut from Cannes” (and rightfully so), Riddle of Fire is a slick experience constructed inside and out from children’s minds and aimed at the viewer’s previous selves—the inner child in us all. The film immediately takes you back to those days when there wasn’t a care in the world. You were roaming free with your friends during the sunny summer days, no matter the decade in which you grew up. Weston Razooli captures that essence that many filmmakers have had difficulty grasping in their respective films about the youth due to their lack of playfulness and creativity.
That same ingenuity fuels each performance, all feeling genuine as if they were pulled directly from that world. The kids sometimes mumble and fumble their lines, yet Razooli leaves them to make the experience feel more authentic, even though it is more based on fantasies imagined by children. You live and breathe each setting, thanks to the odd details in not only the characters but what they were, the locations, and the fairy-tale-esque atmosphere that isn’t afraid to go darker once in a while. Unfortunately, a couple of things prevent Riddle of Fire from being a truly outstanding directorial debut. The main issues in Weston Razooli’s film are the occasional meandering nature of his narrative and the shifting tones.
A big chunk of the movie feels like a bunch of segments clambered onto one another with some style and flash. Every angle of this story, whether it is the multiple subplots and awkward moments, seems too loose and laid back to mold an organized narrative around it. You are entertained by it all, as the “Three Immortal Reptiles” are charismatic enough to follow them around during their hijinks. Yet, when you examine the story closely, many moments feel like “filler” material—segments unrelated to the main plot that don’t alter much of the characters’ relationships and simply take up space. I believe it is in these moments that the feeling of nostalgia and innocence begins to fade. The director recuperates that feeling from time to time, but it is a shifting wave of ups and downs.
With a runtime of 113 minutes, Weston Razooli extends his debut with scenes that add nothing to the leading trio’s dynamics–with a handful of threads left relatively uncooked and unsatisfactory–instead of doing some substantial trimming to ensure the emotional value of this story doesn’t lose itself amidst the “cool factors” being implemented. I still believe that there’s plenty to admire and be fascinated by in Riddle of Fire, primarily because of its low-budget cost and production. Razooli wrote, directed, edited, acted, and did some of the costumes for the film. And it is very impressive that he managed all those tasks without wearing down his picture altogether. As a piece of independent filmmaking, Riddle of Fire is truly a marvel of a project. Shot across 20 days, Razooli managed to get the best out of every situation and got away with something magical yet cluttered in a way that seems acceptive to each flaw or slight mistake during the production.
