Tail of a Tiger

In Rolf de Heer's first film, TAIL OF A TIGER, he sees the world through the eyes of a child, a viewpoint that he repeatedly explores in his later work. Orville Ryan, a precocious 12-year-old, wants to rise above his peers: he wants to fly. But the local gang of youngsters, led by mean-spirited Spike, won't share their radio-controlled model airplanes with Orville. Instead, Spike crushes both Orville's scale model Tiger Moth and his dreams. Heartbroken, a tearful Orville aimlessly wanders until he finds himself in an abandoned factory. While poking around, he sets eyes on what appears to be an old plane wreck and, upon further inspection, is none other than a full size Tiger Moth. Ecstatic, Orville immediately envisions himself as an apt pilot. As he zooms through blue skies, his dream is brought to an abrupt halt by the plane's owner, a curmudgeonly old man named Harry. The next day, the factory doors are locked, but Orville Ryan is one pilot who cannot be shot down. – E.J.B.