MirrorMask (2005)

At last a British movie to rave about and there are no cheeky Cockney gangsters, no inpenetrable Northern accents, and no heritage corsets.  Instead we have a miraculous and imaginative rites-of-passage film, produced by the Henson Company, directed by comic-book artist Dave McKean, and co-written with the well known graphic novelist, Neil Gaiman.  The teenaged heroine played by an amazing Stephanie Leonidas (who bares the weight of the film on her slender shoulders) enters a dreamworld not unlike Alice's, but far more fantastical and  frightening.  The visuals, which I understand were created on a remarkably small budget, are beautiful and at times mind-boggling, as she searches for the mask of the title which will restore balance in both worlds.  I am sure it will be released soon, if only in a limited way, so do make a point of trying to see it in a cinema; a DVD would be great and I would certainly add one to my collection, but one would miss the majesty of the big screen.