This quirky and retrofuturistic film recounts very tenderly a tale where love, present and past, and the surrealism of dreams and nightmares come together in a very joyful and entertaining manner.

Kentucker Audley (who also writes and directs the picture together with Albert Birney) is Preble, a dream taxman in 2035 who, as his job title defines, works for the Federal State by taxing the contents of people dreams. For his latest task he will find himself crossing paths with the weird and particular Bella (Penny Fuller), an old lady living in isolation in a strawberry-coloured mansion. The encounter with her and her younger version in the dreams (Grace Glowicki) will forever change the life of the silent and lonely taxman.

As first mentioned, above anything else the movie balances perfectly its craziness and multiplicity of moods all throughout its length. Going from weird creepiness to romanticism to horror to melodrama, the jumps from one another are very tightly ensembled.

Obviously, if we analyse those different tonalities one by one, there are some ups and downs. On top of them we will have the most romantic elements which, even if quite cheesy and bizarre, considering the overall style of the film, it ends up mashing really well with the totality of the story. On the other side, as the not awful but weakest part, we would have the most nightmarish and terror-driven section of the movie. It is not that this part is bad, it actually has some nice touches as the plainer acting from the characters which fits perfectly the portrayal of a nightmare as the antagonists are for the most part emotionless characters, except for when it develops into much more horrific iconography were it simply feels too cheap and comical. Those same reasons that make the romantic parts work aesthetically simply diminish the intended punch of the roughest moments.

As it can be perceived, all this is wrapped in a randomly devised imagery, very much in tone with what you actually experienced in your own dreams. Jumping from place to place, images and interactions that do not make any sense and so on. The funny thing is that the particular look of the real world in this film, which is set in 2035 but makes use of various anachronic elements, makes you wonder sometimes if what you are looking is a dream or the actual world. This, instead of creating confusion, allows for further entertainment and engagement with the audience which in any case is perfectly guided after all so you at the end can tell if it is reality or not.

All this original groundwork and layout of the story, both when it comes to writing and visuals, is also supported by solid acting. It is especially the duo of Penny Fuller and Grace Glowicki playing the two of them Bella, older and younger version respectively, that are the ones stealing the show. Fuller with her sweetness and originality and Glowicki with her energy and passion. Although showing different attitudes, you can clearly see the thread and connection between the two performances into that same character.

All in all, this incredibly colourful and originally thought story is a sweet, just like strawberries, ride into our most sugary personality which instead of becoming too much of a pastel tale manages through surrealistic imagery and mood-swings to keep you in your toes even if having some irregularities and quite a few ludicrous moments.