Possessing a gentle romanticism and mysterious intimacy, Lee Neville's Time Always Moving at first appears to be yet another pretentious "no budget" indie that waxes eloquently but ultimately says very little.

Then, it all begins to make sense and the dialogue gels with the images. The images gel with James Collin's sparsely constructed yet emotionally resonant original music.

Then, suddenly, it all begins to make sense or, at the very least, actually mean something.

The stand alone sequel to Neville's Time Stops Moving, which this critic has not seen, Time Always Moving centers around one man, Adam (Neville), who is learning to let himself love again, and Kirsty (Olga Vanessa Aristodemou), who is curious about Adam's past and whether or not she can live up to the one woman who stayed with Adam when time seemed to stop moving.

There is very little in the way of "action" contained within Time Always Moving, with Neville instead focusing on creating atmosphere and allowing the power of the spoken dialogue to accomplish the film's mission. Discovering the mission is the task, really, for the viewer.

What does this all mean? Who are these two people? Are they breaking up or madly in love? Is this merely a memory or is it a dream come true?

Neville and Aristodemou are stellar together, creating a natural intimacy and connection that feels almost spiritual. Each word when spoken feels like they are tiptoeing ever closer to one another. Neville's Adam is clearly a man who is guarded emotionally and even afraid of love, while Aristodemou's Kirsty almost seems to be reaching out her hand to him one finger at a time as if to say "I am safe."

In addition to Collin's marvelous and mood-setting score, D.P.'s Matteo Cosorich and Martin Hampton work together to create appropriately moody yet far from depressing camera work. The images are often shadowed, light meeting dark or, perhaps more appropriately, light piercing the darkness. While Time Always Moving is a "no budget" short film, it is a short film that makes the most of its limited finances by creatively working within its limitations.

There are moments, both with sound and lighting, where the film's limited budget is obvious. Yet, the film's simplicity and focus on dialogue allows for minimal distraction by production issues and for the viewer to focus on these two people, their journeys and the truths that are being slowly revealed.

For more information on Time Always Moving and the films of Lee Neville, visit the Lee Neville website.  Time Always Moving will be premiering at the Cyprus International Film Festival in September 2011.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic