This utter odd-ball gem from Scotland will no doubt disappear from view unless its highly talented director (Laurin Federlein) or actor/musician Magnus Aronson strike it big later on. But in theory the accolades should be for Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness alone – a beautiful, moving and hilarious work. It opens with Vincent (Aronson) trying to convince a local about a great plan of his. He’s not particularly convincing – nervous, stilted and to be honest a terrible salesman. Is he a conman? Deluded? A visionary? He seems to fail, but a musical interlude carries him away, and he travels through the Scottish highlands on a wee scooter. As the film progresses you realise he’s utterly earnest and totally believes in what he’s trying to do – he believes the people in the Scottish Highlands are lonely, so he decides to make a mobile disco to unite the people and show them a good time. Unfortunately for Vincent, the people seem happy enough.

This is a film about loneliness and solitude and as the film progresses, it becomes less about Vincent trying to solve other people’s loneliness, and more about him trying to use this crazy idea to solve his own emptiness. As his isolation and rejection becomes more and more pronounced, he still refuses to give up hope. His art ends up almost taking over – the film’s just as much about the transcendence of art, and the uninhibited joy it allows (regardless of whether people actually want to use it or not). Vincent is a wonderful creation – lovable, pitiable, depressing, but also one to be admired for his sheer perserverance and inability to give up. (Though his little swearing outburst at his scooter is totally understandable).

It’s also a pseudo-musical as Aronson’s charming lo-fi pop tunes interrupt the narrative both diegetically and non-diegetically. This wasn’t totally unexpected: the film’s title sounds like an Elephant 6 album. His little karaoke number in particular was wonderful. The visuals are also highly interesting. The film was shot in Hi 8 video, and film is gloriously over-saturated. The Highlands become blazingly coloured, a surreal worldview that seems to reflect Vincent’s naïve (but touching) conception of the world. Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness is an absolute charmer, a highly original piece of storytelling and comes definitely recommended.—Brannavan Gnanalingam