These films were…interesting. And while it’s not like I didn’t enjoy them, I use the word interesting because they were so unconventional. I watched three of them and in each one, it’s impossible to know exactly what’s going on or what the premises are. But, that’s probably the filmmaker’s intent. In all of these I kept thinking something big was going to happen, but instead we’re left wondering.
The first one I watched was “Embrace.” The actress’s loud breathing made it clear that she was scared or nervous, which became more relevant towards the end when we hear the sirens go off. The camera focused closely in on the actors’ faces the whole time, so we don’t know what the setting is. In addition, it’s almost impossible to make out what they are saying to each other. It was also interesting to me how the female character seems to be the nervous one at the beginning and then the roles seem to reverse when she’s comforting the man at the end.
Next I watched “Bridge.” Not much mystery to this one as the others. Clearly we can see there’s some romantic tension between two friends, and while there is a sense of chemistry between the actors, the plot seems a bit contrived and a little awkward.
Lastly, I watched “Roof.” At first I thought the “rising” was referring to the sun, but then we find out it’s water. I didn’t get much out of this one except for the fact that it seemed like the characters had been in a natural disaster and were stranded on the roof. My mind automatically went to Hurricane Sandy when I saw it was set in New York, actually. They also give a reference to 40 days and 40 nights, tying in a Biblical theme of Noah and the flood. The music at the end threw me for a loop too; the scene went from nervous to calm. I think this was the most mysterious out of the three I watched.
2 Responses to Short films