Eleni Doucas’ 17-minute young-adult romance, Polaris follows Lucy and Aidan, young residents at a mental health facility, who develop a friendship that flows into a fraught romance. The leading cast, emerald green in their inexperience, convincingly pull off their characters’ by turns awkward, dramatic, and just plain sweet relationship—quintessential young romance. The pairing is classic:… Continue reading Polaris: Young Love and Its Happy, Messy, Fleeting Glories
Tag: Review
ID EST: (Sci-fi) Action for Its Own Sake
Shayda Frost’s ID EST, a 12-minute sci-fi, is weak on the writing but boasts the aesthetic of a high-budget slick, sci-fi action flick. Following the encounter of the main cast with their evil counterparts, the story dives into the background of its protagonist in flashbacks while in the present she is hanging on to her… Continue reading ID EST: (Sci-fi) Action for Its Own Sake
The Interview: A Chaotic Drama on The Legal Kaleidoscope and the Shifts it Allows
Liam Treacy’s The Interview is a peculiar, potent eighteen-minute drama about a lawyer who wants to be hired and another lawyer who gives him the perverse skinny on how to do it. A two-character plot means that the roomy runtime is filled to the brim with tense character development that in turn illustrates the sordid… Continue reading The Interview: A Chaotic Drama on The Legal Kaleidoscope and the Shifts it Allows
Broken Castles: Implied Historical Trauma and Fresh Efforts to Outrun Them
Ginevra Gentili’s Broken Castles, written by Ryan Napier, follows the tug of war between two brothers and the opposing perspectives they cling to, living in an ancient castle which seems intent on keeping them both tied to it. There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue, replaced instead by the internal torment of younger brother Shiloh,… Continue reading Broken Castles: Implied Historical Trauma and Fresh Efforts to Outrun Them
Stall: Grief in Preparation for Unspeakable Grief in a Film on Gun Violence
Arlo Grey Gordon’s Stall is a triumph of writing in independent cinema. Shot in a single take, the 7-minute drama depicts the terror of crossing paths with American gun violence. It is keenly specific to the experience, and the camera that follows its protagonist, almost but not always to the depths of her helpless despair,… Continue reading Stall: Grief in Preparation for Unspeakable Grief in a Film on Gun Violence
Canta Santiago: Grief, Amid the Demands of Showbiz and Wages
James Valdez’s Canta Santiago is set in a restaurant and features a protagonist with a recently passed brother, so thoughts of The Bear are not totally out of place, but this is a different arena altogether. For one, the protagonist is a child. For two, he does not have room, not really, to fail. There are two… Continue reading Canta Santiago: Grief, Amid the Demands of Showbiz and Wages
The Last Musketeer: A Portrait Defined by Its Missing Subject
Kyzen Del Aguia’s The Last Musketeer is a documentary in tribute to the late Canadian fencer, Douglas Jackson. Slated to be a character study of the fencer and coach with the man himself on screen, the film diverged down a different path when Douglas passed away early in 2023. In its place, Douglas’ peers and… Continue reading The Last Musketeer: A Portrait Defined by Its Missing Subject
That Night: An Expectant House and Its Chilling Emptiness
Joseph McDonagh’s 13-minute That Night is a horror film that thrives on dread. Its preoccupation with dread itself frees it from providing a neatly packaged source. Instead, it develops an atmosphere of anticipation. Rosie (Rianne Britten) and Theo (Ben Dalton) are about to have a daughter. There should be little reason for there to be… Continue reading That Night: An Expectant House and Its Chilling Emptiness
Dipsomaniac: Bad Birthdays and a Bloody Becoming
Jeremy Stewart’s Dipsomaniac is a 17-minute dramedy following its protagonist’s lonely 27th birthday. His sole companion, Hal—unhinged from the word go—makes Tim and the audience wish there were zero companions. But Hal is here to stay, at least for the duration of the film. For the large part, the story takes place inside a party… Continue reading Dipsomaniac: Bad Birthdays and a Bloody Becoming
I am ______: The Production and Upkeep of Lies for the Aesthetic
James Dubbeldam’s I am __ is a 5-minute rather simplistic drama depicting three facets of the influencer figure through moments in the life of a teenage vlogger. With just a single actor within the diegesis, the film uses title cards to deliver its commentary on the well-known misrepresentations on which contemporary social media is based.… Continue reading I am ______: The Production and Upkeep of Lies for the Aesthetic