Watching: Pillbox

Overview

Pillbox tells the story of a couple who are forced to part when the man heads overseas to war. The opening sequence boasts the simple black-and-white aesthetic of early cinema – complete with title cards – but after a barrage of harrowing newsreel footage, the wounded soldier finds himself in a psychedelic fantasyland where he parties with a bejeweled king and his subjects. But after insulting the king, the soldier is blinded, banished and forced to wander through a surreal landscape as he searches for redemption and tries to find his way home.