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A definitive 6.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. 7 Till 5 remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for film history or experimental doodles, yeah, go for it. If you need a plot or, I don't know, a coherent point, you'll probably hate it. It's basically a short burst of art school chaos.
Norman McLaren basically treated his camera like a nervous teenager with a new toy here. It’s twitchy. It’s fast. Sometimes it forgets to stay focused.
The whole thing feels like it was edited by someone who had way too much coffee. It’s an impressionistic blur of paintbrushes, charcoal smudges, and people looking very serious about their sketches.
There's this one shot of a student’s hands moving across paper that lasts just long enough to make me feel like I’m hovering over their shoulder, breathing down their neck. It’s a little creepy, honestly. 🎨
It’s funny to think about how this was the start of the Glasgow School of Art Film Group. It doesn't have the polish of The Story of the Monkey King or the moodiness of London After Midnight. It’s just... raw.
The film captures that specific, dusty smell of an art studio. You know the one. Pencil shavings and turpentine. Even without sound, you can practically hear the charcoal scratching against the newsprint.
Sometimes the camera zooms in on something completely unimportant, like a stray chair or a pile of rags. It’s weirdly charming. It’s like the director got distracted by the room itself rather than the people in it.
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's more of a sketch. A rough, messy, beautiful little sketch.
It’s not trying to win an Oscar. It’s just trying to see if it can capture a feeling. Does it? Kind of. It’s definitely worth the few minutes it takes to watch it if you're bored on a Tuesday afternoon.