• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Write for Us
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

The Missing Picture: A Poetic Love Note To Alzheimer’s

Indie Shorts Mag Team by Indie Shorts Mag Team
14 Sep 2020
in Reviews
0
The Missing Picture - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

8:44-minutes of reel on a family’s moment with love, life and memories: that’s what writer-director Javier Aparisi’s The Missing Picture is all about. A film that deals with the central character’s suffering because of Alzheimer’s, Aparisi’s short presents a sublime, touching portrait of a family that has to live with someone whose death is more profound and affecting while they continue to breathe. That Alzheimer’s affects those around the patient more than the patient themselves is a contested thought, but Aparisi manages to crease that out by depicting a balanced, nuanced take on the illness and what it does to a family on the whole.

The Missing Picture opts for a cyclic narrative, opening with Bebhinn Pidgeon, who plays Julia, going through what’s left in the room, clearly implying its occupant, now missing. The air of melancholia and loss is well established, right from the opening frame. The credit for this also goes to Ilhan Saferali whose soulful composition plays along, albeit faintly in the background. As Julia sits by the table opening the wooden box, we peek into it as she does. Filled with polaroid shots are someone’s life, moments they cherished and celebrated, someone’s memories of themselves and the life they lived and left behind, all neatly stacked into a box.

The Missing Picture - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Aparisi opts for non-linear narration as we revisit the most telling moment of the short; a single photograph of a clear and happy day by the ocean. Ethel Pitchford who plays the grandma, is so brilliant in bringing forth the chaos and emptiness of an Alzheimer’s suffering, that from the very first time she fills our screen, she fills our hearts too. There is that unmistakable fear, anxiety and childlike naiveté to her act that only makes the character more believable, not only in terms of the concerned individual but also the family; after all, it is the family’s pain as much as it is hers.

When Julia’s husband, Peter (Roberto Lanzas) enters the scene with little Victor (Victor Aja Yera), the panic and fear exhibited by the grandma who can no longer recognise her own family is painful. Pidgeon nails her performance too, being the calm support to her mother as the family begins their annual summer trip to the ocean. Javier Labrador Deulofeu’s camera follows the family into their outing. The sharp colour contrast from the dimly lit indoors to the bright, open-air at the ocean is striking. It’s almost as if one has breathed life into a vacant space. As the grandmother and grandson bond over their common discovery of the lapping water, the time is frozen forever.

The Missing Picture - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

What sets The Missing Picture apart from its category and theme is the narrative style opted for. Instead of having very many dialogues or scenes that highlight the obvious difficulties of being the patient and having someone to deal with them, the film focuses on the void and moments that tie the individuals together — a clever, interesting choice, as it not only makes the film moving, but also hopeful. 

Aparisi’s The Missing Picture, contrary to its title, isn’t about the missing picture, but the missing individual whose void no amount of photographs can fill.

#ShortFilmReview: The Missing Picture: Her life could be neatly stacked into a box. Click To Tweet

Watch The Missing Picture Short Film Trailer

The Missing Picture: A Poetic Love Note To Alzheimer’s
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
4.1

'The Missing Picture' is not yet available online for public 😕

Want to get notified when 'The Missing Picture' is available online to watch?

Get a one time email and SMS when 'The Missing Picture' is available online for the public. We will remove your data from our system once we sent out the notification. No Spam!

First Name
Last Name
Your email
Phone Number
Tags: PrivateReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Dumps: Allegorical Picturisation Of Depression & Suicide

Next Post

On The Whistle: Politics On The Basketball Court

Indie Shorts Mag Team

Indie Shorts Mag Team

Related Posts

Seabreeze - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Seabreeze: A Mother’s Apology Rendered Against Soothing Imagery

4th March 2021
Rendezvous - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Rendezvous: An Engaging Thriller That Subverts The Crime Genre

4th March 2021
Next Post
On The Whistle - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

On The Whistle: Politics On The Basketball Court

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

From Editor’s Desk

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Sponsored

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram

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: Rendezvous: In this game of deception, only the one who is a step ahead can win. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@det_4_films⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • Screamfest Opens Submissions For 2021(Deadline Approaching Soon!)

Fun fact: Paranormal Activity gained recognition at Screamfest. 

Learn more, link in bio. 

#filmfestival #screamfest #shortfilmfestival #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #horrorfilm #horrorfifestival
  • #ShortFilmReview: Denervation: How far are you willing to go to remain youthful? Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@joshuaadawson⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Toxic: A fragile ego is always easily wounded. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@bme_films⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #
  • #ShortFilmReview: RedSin: You can
  • #ShortFilmReview: Erena...Our Eritrea: How many more lives to be lost before their voices are finally heard? Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@aymericjinnicolet @elliehodgettsfilmmaker @erenafilm⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview
  • #ShortFilmReview: Luccica: This ghostly apparition seeks more than just revenge. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@JesseMcAnally @FoscaFeatures⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Dia de Las Carpas: Revisit your childhood friendship! Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@skylar.y.zzz @diadelascarpasfilm @joaodallstella⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Promenade: Kiss your youth goodbye in the promise of something better. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@anollieward⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag