The Telephone Box

I have not seen this film for a while but I have seen it several times on TV and I have never forgotten it. It is a film with minimal dialogue and pieces of classical music. The story is simple. A man takes his son to school. On the way home he enters a telephone box which has its door slightly ajar, like a venus fly trap waiting to snare its victims. He finds it is out of order and cannot open the door. He is helpless. People try but fail to get him out. Then the phone company's truck arrives along with several men. I won't reveal anymore but the finale is terrifying and shocking and is unforgettable. I first watched this movie when I was eight-years-old and after I wouldn't go into a phone box for a while in fear of being trapped inside. One of the truly great films.

When I was a child I played outside. I was happy. I did not know about life. I skipped school. I looked at the stars. I was innocent. I loved purely the girl I saw across the street. I was happy. I like films that move me. 'Soft' films like Field of dreams. I'm not a critic. I like happy endings. This is not a film I would have chosen to watch. I tuned in to this once by accident when I was young. It has never left me. I'm not happy I watched it. It changed me. It stole my childhood. I would not have missed it for the world. To this day I speak of it. No one I know has ever seen it. I always wondered if I imagined it. Having seen IMDb I now know it was real. Now I have worse fears. Was this really a film or a message sent to just a few to warn us. A warning. A WARNING. I would have missed it for the world. Oh God.

A day like any other. Men rushing to work, children heading off to school. A group of workmen install a glass telephone booth in the courtyard of a residential building complex. A man enters the booth, finds the phone inoperative, and realizes the door has closed and locked behind him. He struggles in vain to free himself, gradually drawing a crowd of jeering spectators. A number of good citizens enlist their aid in freeing the increasingly agitated man, but to no avail. The aforementioned workmen suddenly return, and effortlessly disengage the booth from its foundation, loading it(and the frantic captive) onto the bed of their truck. A long drive from the city to the outlands commences...the man tries desperately to signal passers-by for help, but his perdition is met with mocking indifference. He sees another truck hauling a similar booth, also with a man trapped inside...the two exchange glances, each wearing a face of helpless confusion. Upon arrival at the destination point, the man learns the grim reason for his quandary...it is a reason devoid of purpose...cruel, evil, and perpetuated by nothing more than its own pointless enterprise. Meanwhile, back in town, workmen are installing another phone booth.

One of the finest short horror films of the 70s, LA CABINA presents a classic ontological argument within a narrative as nihilistically comical as it is deeply despairing. Somewhat like a TWILIGHT ZONE episode subtly underscored with bitter notes of pointed political commentary, it remains as shocking and deliciously mordant as the day it was made.

8/10.

There's little I can add to the other comments on the film. Like others, I saw it as a child and never got over it. I spent countless hours fruitlessly trawling google for a film called "man in a glass booth". Finally after a tip-off from the only other person I know who'd seen it, I found it on YouTube. It brought it all back in the short 30-odd wobbly minutes it lasts, and reminded me that this bizarre childhood experience is central to my love of film now.

I am convinced this was shown on more than one occasion by the BBC. The range of dates and ages given by other reviewers is too broad to be down to error (you *know* how old you were when you saw La Cabina). I saw it in the early 80s, but definitely later than 1980. Maybe it was a stock film the Beeb held in case they needed to fill in late night when the schedules ran awry.

OK it's dated a little, but not enough to detract from the effect. Which is profound.

But if you've read this far you've probably already seen it. If so *please log in and vote on this title*. The reviews have made me realise how valuable IMDb is. If you've any new views on interpretation, I think we'd all like to hear them. The mean score for La Cabina is so high it would rank in the top 100 on here if only it had enough votes. So give something back, create an account and vote on La Cabina and be part of the IMDb process. We might even finally get this "little dirty gem" the attention it deserves!

I saw this film in the 1970s and even as a late teenager it gave me the creeps. For many years afterwards I kept my foot between the telephone box and the door. Silly I know but.. There are only a handful of films that have left their mark on me and this is one of them. Have been searching high and low to buy a copy for many years and often wonder how dated it would seem now. I know of only 2 other friends who have seen it and it has left a similar impact on them. The story is a simple one and you know that it seems silly and he will eventually get out and have the mickey taken out of him. I was certainly not prepared for the ending.