The two films I watched from the Hillman Curtis series’, “Short Films” were Soldiers and Bridge. Though both of the films were less than five minutes, I understood what both stories were about.
In Bridge, two friends, a guy and a girl were talking about a relationship book the guy found on the table. Though the girls’ boyfriend would not tryout some of the exercises in the book, the guy friend was willing to try it out with her. Most of this film was done with both of the characters in the shot. But what made me really follow the story was the words and the facial expressions that the characters had. The guy friend obviously sees the girl as more than a friend, and it shows in his demeanor when the girl talks about her boyfriend. Or when she used the word “friend” instead of “partner”. 
The shots of the characters opening their eyes while trying to make the bridge showed the characters wondering if the other person was in it with them. The wide shot of the characters building the bridge had me thinking “Oh my God, they are going to kiss!” The anticipation of them touching forehead to forehead in a close up shot had me screaming at my computer screen, and then they opened their eyes. They both don’t want to admit that there is something there, but as for now, they’re just friends.
The other film I watched is Soldiers. When the film first starts, it shows a shot of the mom cleaning off a grave and another shot of a Solider looking sad, with another solider in the background, though he is not as visible. I’m thinking “okay, maybe the mom went to visit someone and the son came to check on her”. What I thought was interesting, was that the shots were never of them both together as the focus points. It was always either the mom, or the son. That shows separation of the character’s viewpoint. The camera was never steady either. The camera moved as the characters moved, which I actually noticed the second time I watched the film.
As the son got closer, he kept talking to his mom, and his mom kept saying “hello”. The son kept replying to his friend, saying she could hear him, but that was all that was being said. Then I realized that the son is dead, and is talking to his mom, letting her know that he is here. With so few words and few shots, it told the story so well, and it was so moving.
What I got out of watching these and a couple of other films is that you don’t need a whole bunch of words or camera shots to tell a story. A person can be moved by less words if they are allowed to think for themselves. Let the shots tell the story. If you use too many words, your not giving the audience enough credit to think for themselves.