Riddle of Fire: A Fantastical & Mischievous Ode to Childhood Showcases an Oddball Voice in Cinema

Growing up in the desert vista of Tucson, Arizona, I was surrounded by majestic mountains, endless blue sky, and otherworldly thunderstorms. As a kid in a vast city—yet one not deemed a metropolis—I spent many days dreaming up adventures in the backyard, half-inspired by my favorite movie of the week and the shared fantasy of my friends. 

I think as adults, we gravitate to movies as they are the closest thing we have, and maybe the most socially acceptable vehicle, to a collective imagination taking us to uncharted worlds, or to our pasts. Weston Razooli’s Riddle of Fire reimagines childhood with an eclectic daydream reverie of childhood fantasy, whimsical neo-fairy tale, and an infectious, rambunctious energy. 

Premiering at Cannes 2023, Razooli’s debut feature focuses on three children—Hazel, Alice, and Jodie—who spend their summer in the Wyoming mountains riding dirt bikes, shooting paintball guns, and apparently, trying to steal that year’s coolest game console. In an opening scene rivaling the cunning and charm of Danny Ocean (if he were 8-years-old), Razooli’s gang of trolls (as he lovingly calls them) initiate a heist using their iPhones, paintball guns, and their unassuming, sneaky stature. From there, we learn their sweet, bedridden mother put an Elvish-looking password on the TV, limiting their ability to celebrate the victory of their spoils. And so their quest begins: to unlock the TV, the kids must find a special blueberry pie for their mom. 

What seems to be a simple fetch quest becomes so much more. In classical fairy tale fashion there is a princess, a witch, a magical forest, a mean bandit, and a MacGuffin: one speckled egg. After the bandit takes the last speckled egg from the market, the kids track him down and find themselves mixed up with the Enchanted Blade Gang, a group of poachers led by a modern day witch. Along the way, they find Petal, the daughter of the head witch, who desires freedom,  friends and to feel like a true kid. There is a layer of depth Razooli scratches at, with a touching scene of the trolls sitting in a meadow, reflecting on absent parental figures. But the film isn’t preoccupied with backstory or realism. Razooli set out to create a world inspired by his childhood riding dirt bikes, playing D&D, and absorbing discount adventure flicks. Razooli mashes fantasy with direct-to-video ‘70s Disney adventures to create a wholly unique and joyous ode to childhood.

You don’t have to look too hard to appreciate the fascinating world-building Razooli has molded  into the picture. Razooli chose to include smartphones to show these adventures are still possible in today’s day and age. But he doesn’t fall on them as a crutch: hereinvents smartphones as part of the kids’ toolbelt in their adventure. Instead of calling their mom, the kids use the iPhones as sci-fi binoculars to spy on their adversaries. 

The video game console looks like a castle; the kids create a banquet full of meat, soda, and a chalice of gummy worms; colorful mushrooms sprout in the forest; and their house reminds you of a mystical, cliff-side lair. Fun fact: As a kid, Razooli’s innate wonder drove him to dream up who lived in that house, and as an adult, he finally got to make that dream come true by using it in the film.

The soundtrack is embedded with a variety of idiosyncratic sounds and songs, heavy with synth keys, flutes, and reverb-laden drums, perfectly syncing up with any march up a mountain. As with any kid’s flight of fancy, Razooli’s imagination runs wild with a seemingly innocuous task, taking us from a bakery to a grocery store to a witch’s hideout and a standoff in the woods. Razooli and DP Jake Mitchell evoke a timelessness with lively compositions, capturing the sun-soaked woods in a vivid 16mm and lending the film the aura of a lost relic to be found amongst an old video store. 

Managing to sidestep drunken nostalgia, Razooli wisely moves beyond the standard coming-of-age structure and proves to be a singular, oddball voice, something cinema desperately needs right now. Much like our protagonists Hazel, Jodie, Alice, and Petal, there’s a good chance—and hope—Riddle of Fire can shake things up and begin a wave of sleeper hit surprises for audiences to discover and treasure.  

Watching Riddle of Fire captures a feeling like few movies have. Razooli crafts a picture that truly allows kids to be kids. They bicker, they dance, they eat candy, they fight a huntsman and witch, and at the end of the day, their friendship is stronger, and this day will become a lasting memory. There’s no grand lesson. There’s no teaching moment, nothing for the audience to moralize. Instead, it’s truly in the spirit of entertainment, capturing the whimsy and chaos of childhood. If there is a lesson to be had here it’s this; don’t lose your inner child. Run wild, run free, and let kids do the same. That time is gone before they know it.