Sorry to bother you - where the direction of the film goes a complete different way halfway. 

Charlie Kaufman films (New York synecdoche, I’m thinking of ending things, being John Malkovich) 

Kajillionaire - great use of a story that is quite quirky 

Alex garland films - annihilation, ex machina. 

A sweet refreshing dessert in south east Asia. A cultural analogy  similar to mould in the story. They both can be misunderstood by societal stigmas (e.g. asians being shunned for eating “smelly” or “ugly looking” delicacies). Kai hating this symbolises how much he tried to shun away from his own culture to fit in to the western society; his ways of assimilation and breaking traditional values.  

In the scene, (second half of the film), he goes through this shadow play that becomes this liminal space of confrontation. We can use the idea of childhood vulnerability and nostalgia of the “ispy” books to turn it into something eerie and suspenseful. I really love this concept, and it would make that scene so much more effective. 

Reading how these shots are made, (even though it’s just a children’s book), is so magical and dreamy. That they use actual props to set it up and photograph it, even though it looks photoshopped / digitised.