David Lodge's prize-winning short presents Charles Bukowski's poem on a visit to the dentist by an elderly man. There is boredom, threat (the black trees seen through the surgery window) and even sex (the attractive female dentist), all captured in the brief compass of some ten minutes. This is a film of old age, reflected in the slightly self-conscious retro sepia monochrome with spots and scratches specially added, and titles in ageing typewriter style (thus conforming to the contemporary principle that credits are not there to be read and are therefore made semi-legible). A good watch in a brief time.
