Ben and Mimi - Mimi and Ben

A young woman is trapped in a dull marriage and comes across a caterpillar, which brings joy into her life.

Mimi (Channell) lives a solitary life in a house in the countryside, with her partner Ben (Whitten). Ben constantly has a towel wrapped around each hand and it is up to Mimi to take care of him. She feeds him, changes the towels on his hands, gives him a bath and pretty much treats him like a baby. She is seemingly unhappy in her situation and one day she finds a caterpillar and decides to keep it. The caterpillar appears to brighten up her life.

This fifteen-minute-long short drama has an atmosphere that feels poignant and surreal. The plot focuses on an awkward relationship and explores the character development that Mimi goes through, following the appearance of the caterpillar. According to Cragg, the film is a subconscious wish fulfillment for Mimi and the caterpillar could represent that wish because Mimi appears mesmerised by it and accepts it into her life, treating it with care and the fact that it is a caterpillar might signify a change that Mimi is longing for, as a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, representing change.

Channell delivers a dramatic performance as a lonely woman who is stuck in a situation where she feels unhappy and wants something to happen that will set her free. She spends hers days looking after Ben and finds solace by listening to the sound of a large conch shell.

The cinematography by Gabriel Wilson looks beautiful and Cragg directs very creatively, utilising static frames and well executed movement with the camerawork. The camera proceeds to move when the caterpillar shows up for the first time, possibly signifying that something different is taking place. Composer Andrew Howes does an amazing contribution with a score that is wonderful and the ocean sound effects are great.

This is quite an intriguing story, one that is about the desire for change and freedom and that also shows how wonderful life is. There is drama and there are moving scenes of tenderness and the explored themes make this project well worthy of recognition.