fred ends unexpectedly. Open-endedly. Alexander Jeremy’s 29-minute film focuses equally on being both an experience and a story with a coherent plot. The two priorities bounce off of each other instead of working against each other for dominance. Instead, one enriches the other. The story of a woman (Susie Kimnell) grieving the death of her fiance,… Continue reading Fred: A Psychological Thriller Like No Other
Tag: Drama
Bound: The Unsettling Power Of People Who Only Look Harmless
On the surface, Claire lives a thoroughly domestic life. Pictures of her family line the shelves. She plays solitaire in an empty, albeit homey house. From the looks of it, she leads a content life. Sure, she snaps at her family when they call her, and she resolutely refuses to move out of the house… Continue reading Bound: The Unsettling Power Of People Who Only Look Harmless
Re-Entry: Returning to Andy Weir For Comfort
Re-Entry, based on the well-known Andy Weir short story, The Egg, has taken the story and turned it into a moving visual poem. Written and directed by Ben Brand, the 9-minute film boasts of refreshing cinematography, appropriate for a story that brings the very nature of life and the universe into question. For those unfamiliar with the story, a man… Continue reading Re-Entry: Returning to Andy Weir For Comfort
Just Like Water: A Meditation On The Vagaries Of Life
Writer-director Manos Triantafillakis’s Just Like Water opens with a quote by Heraclitus on the nature of water and the soul: For souls, it is death to become water, and for water death to become earth. Water comes into existence out of earth, and soul out of water. It evokes both the inevitability of death, as well as anxiety… Continue reading Just Like Water: A Meditation On The Vagaries Of Life
Ruwatan: The Inescapable Need For Resilience, And Love Which Makes It Bearable
The deceptively simple synopsis of Ruwatan belies its profound intensity. Written and directed by Ernest Lesmana, the Indonesian film guts you with the quiet, unspoken, and multiple blows of the story of a blind mother, her daughter, and their weekly appointments at an alternative therapy place. The production is lacklustre but both Vonny Anggraini (Ibu, the mother)… Continue reading Ruwatan: The Inescapable Need For Resilience, And Love Which Makes It Bearable
The Odd: A Wholly Invisible Struggle
Roberto Vivancos’s 2-minute drama, The Odd, offers a glimpse into an acutely personal experience of the sole and unnamed character, a woman in the bath. Short as it is, the film leaves an impact, first, due to the woman’s inner monologue, and the film’s colour scheme. Drenched in green, the opening shot is stunning and hooks… Continue reading The Odd: A Wholly Invisible Struggle
Within: Painfully Authentic Reflection Of Bereavement
Christopher Key’s 7-minute Within, for a drama, follows an unconventional narrative style. Instead of meticulously shot flashback scenes, there is camcorder footage. Instead of comprehensive production design, even for the interview format that it uses, the focus is strictly on Michael’s face (and what an expressive one it is). And for the third and final component,… Continue reading Within: Painfully Authentic Reflection Of Bereavement
Goodbye and Goodnight: Talking Through Addiction And Self-Destruction
Elijah Noble El serves as writer, director, actor, DP, editor, and co-producer for his 15-minute drama, Goodbye and Goodnight. Centred on a young man struggling with sex addiction and the internalized issues it brings with it, the film uses his therapy session as its main driving force. The session, and his interaction with his therapist, is… Continue reading Goodbye and Goodnight: Talking Through Addiction And Self-Destruction
Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter: The Unmatched Power of Human Connection
Paul Stainthorpe’s 16-minute drama Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter (co-written with Simon Jefferson), highlights bullying, abuse and suicide, its childlike title speaking to the young age and vulnerability of its teenaged protagonist, Chloe. At its heart though, the film is a reminder and guide towards hope, personified in supporting character Alice. Alice (Rhiannon Jones) comes across Chloe (Ellie Bindman) at her most vulnerable, staring over the bridge at the river below,… Continue reading Floppy Toast with Drippy Butter: The Unmatched Power of Human Connection
A Father’s Job: Highlighting The Psychological Horror Of The Holocaust
The sheer number of holocaust films speaks directly to the magnitude of the atrocity. The purposes have varied, from expression of deep rage, or wanting to honour the victims, or to heal wounds that have taken root. Frank Christian Wagner’s A Father’s Job honours a particular subset of victims, and in doing so, exposes just… Continue reading A Father’s Job: Highlighting The Psychological Horror Of The Holocaust