Late Afternoon

CinemaSerf

The therapeutic powers of tea are illustrated quite delicately here as “Emily” dunks her biscuit into her cuppa. It breaks and as she watches it slowly dissolve into the water, it's gentle swirling reminds her of days from her childhood. She is clearly a lady who is struggling with her present memories, and her daughter “Kate” is helping pack her possessions as it looks like she isn’t as capable of looking after herself as once she could. The style of the animation is simple yet potent with some lovely expressions of her faces as her reminiscing takes her from her own youth through that of her child and into a present day fraught with uncertainty, and I thought even to the brink of what has to be coming next. There isn’t much by way of dialogue but it is accompanied by quite a complementary score as it reminds us of the effects of ageing and the importance of family - and an hug.