• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2023Earlybird Submission Open
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TVLive
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2023Earlybird Submission Open
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TVLive
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

‘Telephone’ Is A Warm Story Against The Unforgiving Cold Of The Arctic…

Sristi Gayen by Sristi Gayen
10 Sep 2020
in Reviews
0
Telephone - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Alistair Cheyne’s ‘Telephone’ (20:29 minutes) is a demonstration of the filmmaker’s mastery at visual storytelling. From sweeping shots of the endless Arctic to a passing shot of a humble radio (cinematography by Erik Põllumaa), director/writer/editor Cheyne zeroes in on a deep sense of isolation and loneliness.

Viktor, a miner played by Aleksei Belyaev, lives a life of isolation in the Arctic, 78° North, away from his son Tolik (voiced by Nikita Kletsun), with whom he shares the occasional telephone call. Gruff exterior removed, Viktor is keenly sensitive, or as his friend puts it, “[has] a thinking problem.” He talks of his long-dead grandmother, with an Arctic-aged voice of nostalgia. Deeply caring of his son, he climbs mountains in the unforgiving cold to collect fossils as a gift for Tolik, in the hope that he will hold on to them as he grows up, for questions that Viktor may not be around to answer, as a token to remember his love for him, and just perhaps as an unspoken apology for his absence. Belyaev is heartbreaking in his performance. Helped along by the brilliant camerawork, he conveys a world of loneliness, defeat and longing.

Telephone - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Viktor’s phone calls to his son are his sole connection to a world outside the frozen expanses of the Arctic. He talks to his son about things that little Tolik might not fully understand, but we know it is Viktor’s way of bringing up his son from a world away, of forming a connection that though Tolik might not fully appreciate now, will come back to him in later years, just the way Viktor hears his grandmother’s voice.

Gradually losing his hearing, Viktor grapples with this new change – yet another blow on his fragile thread of connection with the world, and with the son he so loves. As winds and storms make it increasingly difficult to see, the landscape forms a visual metaphor for Viktor’s hearing loss. When things start falling apart, it is his son that he reaches out to, yearning to keep the bond intact and to hear the comforting sounds of a family through the static noise of the telephone line.

Telephone - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Sound is an essential component of ‘Telephone’; the shrill sounds of a telephone sometimes blend with the screeching winds, and sometimes with the score. The film boasts of a score (music by Tom O’Halloran) which sounds as though it belongs as naturally to Viktor as the snow to the Arctic. Lines blur and Viktor begins to become a part of the land, and with him, does the music… 

Cheyne’s short is a symphony of sound and visuals, both created and matched with the expertise that leaves behind an empty space in the core of your heart long after the credits have rolled.   

#ShortFilmReview: 'Telephone' is a visual treat of the Arctic… Click To Tweet

Watch ‘Telephone‘ Short Film

'Telephone' Is A Warm Story Against The Unforgiving Cold Of The Arctic...
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
4.4
Tags: ReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Oksana Mirzoyan Retells and Makes A Work Of Art With ‘Susanna’

Next Post

‘El Gallo’, The Story Of A Hero’s Making!

Sristi Gayen

Sristi Gayen

Related Posts

The Package - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

The Package: Opening An Unasked for Box

8th February 2023
Anglerfish - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Anglerfish: A Remedy to Bad Relationships

7th February 2023
Next Post
El Gallo - Documentary Review - Indie Shorts Mag

'El Gallo', The Story Of A Hero's Making!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sponsored

Advertise Here

Featured Post

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Youtube Vimeo

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

  • #ShortFilmReview: What’s charm got to do with it? Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Vacation: If you don’t have the tropics, store-bought is fine. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: La Leyenda del Sombrerón: The hunter of souls stands still, sure of prey. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Chekhov
  • #ShortFilmReview: Silver Screen Suicide: Reel absorbs the real. Or is it the other way around? Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #WebSeriesReview: Secrets, Swipes and Lies: Two lives, and their many lies. Read our review and watch the series. Link in bio.

#WebSeries #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: A Clockwork Heart: A Classic Example Of Disney���s Precursors. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Bittersweet: A Feel-Good Film To Instill Hope. 

Read our review & watch the short. Click on the link in our bio. 
 

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Grizzly: An Explicit Critique Of Empty Tradition And Toxic Masculinity. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio. 
 

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms

© 2015-2023 Indie Shorts Mag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2023
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TV
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review

© 2015-2023 Indie Shorts Mag.