Riddle of Fire

2023
PG-13
1h 55m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

Phoebe Ferro, Skyler Peters, Lorelei Olivia Mote, and Charlie Stover in Riddle of Fire (2023)

Play trailer2:04

1 Video

99+ Photos

Action Adventure Comedy

Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 9 nominations

Trivia
In a 2024 interview with Sci-fi Now, Weston Razooli spoke about his influences for the film: "In terms of filmmakers, one would be François Truffaut, and I wanted to create my version of The 400 Blows (1959), set in the mountains of Wyoming! I also wanted an Akira Kurosawa grandiose adventure quality, sort of like The Hidden Fortress (1958), with a freewheeling, enchanted adventure of sorts, where these characters seem almost lost in the forest. I was also inspired by... The Little Rascals from the 1920's, just shows about funny kids doing funny things. Then I'd have to name the film Where Is the Friend's House? (1987) from Abbas Kiarostami. It's the simplicity of a kid trying to return a friend's notebook to his house that he can't find, and the plot of Riddle of Fire is very similar to that. I am often inspired by the literature of Robin Hood and his merry men kind of just frolicking in the forest on adventures, and Brothers Grimm as well. There's also a board game called The Enchanted Forest which I grew up playing, it has a mysterious and slightly scary quality to it. My brothers, cousins and I used to say it was sort of like Jumanji (1995) where you have to keep playing the game, or else terrible things will happen! I guess it created this thing in our imaginations, bigger than the game itself."

Soundtracks
Riddle of Fire Theme
Written by Hole Dweller
Performed by Hole Dweller
Licensed Courtesy of Tim Rowland

User reviews20

Review

Featured review

10/10

FUN

First thing - I know I would have LOVED this movie as a kid. It has children with strong will, acting independently, not being undermined as "just kids". I think as a kid, I would have watched this film dozens of times.

Secondly, as an adult, I still enjoyed this movie. A kids movie that also works for adults? As a parent, let me tell you, those don't come so easy.

Thirdly, the mix between video-game plot elements, aesthetics, structure, etc. Were delightful. The sets (I had to google where it was filmed - Wyoming I think?) were beautiful, and took us out of the usual "seen this a million times" aesthetics.

Fourth, I think the actors (kid actors) were very natural and did a great job. At no moment in the film did I cringe from acting, even though some film critics didn't seem satisfied (yes The Guardian, I'm thinking of you).

In general, this movie is original and atypical. I actually WANT to reccoment it to people, and feel like I want to keep an eye on the director's future creations. Maybe the reason why critics didn't enjoy it so much is because it neither fits into the festival-film aesthetics, nor the commercial film aesthetics. Why? Maybe because this is an actual Auteur film. The movie conveys a personal sense of reality and fantasy, crosses borders, does its own thing without so much a bother of if it fits into a category or another. It doesn't shy away from scenes that can seem a bit ridiculous, for the purpose of the magic and fantasy of the story and what it conveys.

I give it a big A+ - highly reccomended.