Ana and Bruno

Little Ana arrives with her mother at a clinic by the sea. Her mother is ill and will be staying. Ana befriends the strange creatures living there, particularly one called Bruno, and decides to run away to find her father. What the creatures are is the film's real subject. Carlos Carrera directed. It is one of the long-gestating works of Mexican animation; roughly a decade passed between idea and release. The design carries a handmade feel: the creatures are out of proportion, the colours dirty, the backgrounds textured like watercolour. Its nerve is in confusing its audience. It looks like children's animation, but the subject is mental illness, abandonment and a child coming to accept the truth. The explanation that arrives at the end reframes everything before it. It won prizes in Mexico and had limited distribution abroad. Who it is for: viewers who like dark-toned animation for adults. Who it is not for: anyone planning to watch with small children; the film is far heavier than it looks.