“The Dust Factory” is a movie about a mute 13-year-old boy named Ryan who has a near-death experience when he falls from a high rickety bridge. Pulling himself from the water, he finds himself in an enchanted world called the Dust Factory.

In this limbo-like world, he meets his Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather who now acts quite normal, and he finds also that he is able to talk. Eventually, he meets Melanie, a precocious bubbly tomboy, and the two quickly fall in love. Together, with Grandpa Randolph as their mentor, they seek to understand this world in which they have found themselves in and confront their fears of their own mortality.

Ryan is played by Ryan Kelly, a talented young actor who has been seen in HBO Project Greenlight feature “Stolen Summer,” Cannes and Sundance’s critically acclaimed “Mean Creek,” and a recurring role on the WB’s “Smallville.” Melanie is played by Hayden Panettiere, who has appeared in “Remember the Titans” and “Raising Helen,” and has lent her voice to the character of Dot in Pixar’s “A Bug’s Life.” The character of Grandpa is played by Academy Award nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl.

Set against the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, “The Dust Factory” is a very beautiful film. Its cinematography is well executed, its colors are bright, and its few underwater shots are exquisite. The movie is written well and dynamic in theme, but still kid-friendly when dealing with such ideas as one’s mortality and a loss in the family. The movie lacks a strong narrative, but is character-driven, especially by the amazing chemistry between Ryan and Melanie.

Starting with a narration by Ryan on the recent death of his grandmother, Kelly’s acting during the funeral, at first impression, seems fake. This lasts until it becomes apparent that he is unable to speak. It is here that Kelly’s true talent is seen and his performance becomes magical, as he has whole conversations with other characters without saying a single word.

The emotional impact of the scene when Ryan first starts to talk is betrayed by the movie’s opening narration. Still, the rest of his performance is quite jovial and sincere.

The character Melanie seems to be always full of energy and happy, as she constantly dances and twirls in place. She resembles Peter Pan, one of her heroes. With her carefree attitude, and the fact that the Dust Factory has become her personal Neverland, she has been there so long she cannot remember the real world and has no desire to leave.

Grandpa’s character appears as a sage in the film, a voice of wisdom that helps guide Ryan and Melanie in the choices they face together.

In the words of Melanie, the Dust Factory is a, “home away from home until you are ready to go back,” or move on. It appears differently to each character, and to Ryan, appears as a mirror image of the world he once knew in a never-ending summer day. To Melanie, the world is in winter, and she can be found skating on a lake, which to Ryan’s point of view, is not frozen.

The movie’s name is taken from a big-top circus tent lying out in an empty field. And it is here that you can try to get to heaven or go back down to earth.

In the Dust Factory, the way to heaven is reached by succeeding a triple flip from a trapeze. If the person misses being caught, he is dropped far to the circus floor below and disappears in a cloud of dust, instantly awakening on earth below.