Cotton Candy uses a small digital recorder to document San Francisco's Musee Mecanique, a collection of antique coin-operated mechanical toys that is closing soon. For over an hour, he films the museum, focusing on details with close-up shots and alternating between ambient and edited sound. By presenting the mechanical figures as puppets, the artist questions who is really putting on a show: him or them. His careful filming makes the arcade feel unsettling. The film evokes a moment in "The Rules of the Game" when a collector unveils his prized possession, and also recalls the ending of "A.I.," where a future robot admires an older, more human machine. (J. Hoberman, The Village Voice)
