Museum of Miniature Found Objects

I've just come across the work of the filmmaker John Krish. Steve and I went to see four of his documentaries this week: The Elephant Will Never Forget (1952), They Took Us to the Sea (1961), Our School (1962), and I Think They Call Him John (1964). There's a poignancy in these films, where he observes his subjects with great precision, and he's a generous filmmaker, giving the viewer a great sense of space for their own response. In They Took Us to the Sea he follows a group of children from Birmingham on an outing to the seaside. Though they're from impoverished backgrounds, and for some it's the first time they've seen the sea, he avoids the trap of sentimentalising them. I was impressed by how he succeeds at giving a sense of their inner lives, and I found myself wondering what had become of these children later in life.