Tribeca ’03: Confection (review)

A brief and sweet slice of New York City street life, with whipped cream on top, from filmmaker Eva Saks. A little girl, Amanda (Blaire Restaneo), having agonized over a bake shop full of delectable goodies, carries her treat proudly as she walks with her mother (Orlagh Cassidy) near Central Park, jealously protecting the confection. Mom, chattering away on her cell phone, pays her no attention, and everyone else passing on the sidewalk is wrapped up in themselves, too... except for one man. And so the stage is set for Amanda's little lesson in a sympathy and a neighborliness often absent from the sidewalks of New York. This is a lovely little film, poignant and amusing.