The Field of Enchantment

Basically more like a National Geographic video, "La clé des champs" is still a magical film, even with its minimal storyline. As expected and as needed, the photography is magical, and there are a couple of moments when the frogs, amphibians and insects elicit a laugh or two, especially the frogs. The story is that of the world of a tiny pond, tiny to many eyes but vast and peopled with innumerable characters to the eyes of a tiny boy, the pond that will tell him how no one's ever lonely. The ending of the film is beautiful, and it lends impact to the story even if threadbare it is. The ending brings to mind Dostoyevsky's and Giono's beliefs, of how a seed dropped may bear fruit and hence how dropping of a seed is important rather than thinking whether it will yield fruit or not. The pond and its world was abandoned by humanity, but was the richest treasure for a little boy.