The Dust Factory
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The Dust Factory | |
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Directed by | Eric Small |
Written by | Eric Small |
Produced by | Tani Cohen Eric Small |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Stephen M. Katz |
Edited by | Glenn Farr |
Music by | Luis Bacalov |
Production company | Bahr Productions Inc. |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Dust Factory is a 2004 film directed and written by Eric Small.
Plot
Ryan Flynn (
Throughout the main body of the plot, Ryan spends a single endless day exploring the Dust Factory under weather conditions that are always favorable to wandering through the environments and marveling at natural beauty. He is guided by his grandfather and accompanied by a girl of his own age called Melanie Lewis (Hayden Panettiere), who has been in the Dust Factory for years, lacks any memory of her previous life, and lives under the illusion that the climate is of perpetual winter, despite the appearance to Ryan and the viewer of interminable summer. Melanie and Ryan, under the eye of Ryan's grandfather, become intimate friends. Their time is passed in an emotional atmosphere of joy and discovery, mitigated only by the influence of the mysterious Ringmaster, who interferes several times with their activity, and by Melanie's conflict with Ryan's grandfather, who wishes Ryan to make the leap across the arena and thereby contradicts Melanie's desire that all things remain as they are forever. Matters gradually reach a climax, after which Ryan's grandfather makes the leap and dies. Subsequently, against Melanie's wishes (who does not want to be left alone in the Dust Factory), Ryan makes the leap himself, but falls into the pile of dust and is sent back to life. Melanie then defies her own delusion of continual winter and makes the decision to determine her own fate.
Having returned to life, Ryan resurfaces from beneath the water and is rescued by his friend. Although he no longer has any conscious memory of the Dust Factory, it seems to be present in his subconscious, as implied by the facts that he has regained his voice, and a general feeling of joy in life. He subsequently encounters Melanie, who in real life has recovered from a cerebral aneurysm. Although neither Ryan or Melanie has any conscious memory of the other, they appear to subconsciously recognize each other.
Cast
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Grandpa Randolph
- Hayden Panettiere as Melanie Lewis
- Ryan Kelley as Ryan Flynn
- Kim Myers as Angie Flynn
- George De La Peña as Ringmaster
- Michael Angarano as Rocky Mazzelli
- Peter Horton as Lionel
Reception
The film has a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Syndication
It currently airs on
External links
- The Dust Factory at IMDb
- The Dust Factory at Rotten Tomatoes