Julia Morizawa’s Dragonfly, a 14-minute WWII animation, details the effects of the Great Tokyo Air Raid on Japan through the story of a family that faces obliteration. Told through the lens of memory, the film delves into the experience of personal and collective destruction as the skies seemed to turn malevolent, fire raining down on a… Continue reading Dragonfly: The Memory of War and Its Echoes in Time
Tag: War
Born of Water: A Warrior is Brought to Life
Alex Bates’s 19-minute Born of Water pays heavy attention to its surroundings in order to create an atmospheric effect as its protagonist stubbornly evades death. The setting is Guernsey in 1372. One raider who has invaded the island pursues a young mother through the forest and across the shores. What will it cost to win… Continue reading Born of Water: A Warrior is Brought to Life
Overwatch: The Death of Everyday Life in War
Aaron Cohen’s Overwatch is an 18-minute drama centred on the lives of its characters, wrapped up within a very immediate war. Largely stationary, the film carves out a space for the personal while the war makes itself felt dangerously close. The first few minutes of the film is mobile and filled with action. The camera… Continue reading Overwatch: The Death of Everyday Life in War
Macy’s Goes To War: Bite-sized Satire On History
Duncan B. Putney’s 5-minute short, Macy’s Goes To War, dressed as an archival newsreel, is a satire set in 1942 about the considerable contribution of rubber by the famed Mr Macy of Macy’s reputation. Short as it is, the film’s humour is enjoyable, what with the juxtaposition of war with huge balloons of beloved cartoon characters.… Continue reading Macy’s Goes To War: Bite-sized Satire On History
Occupied: A War Drama On A Largely Overlooked Historical Event
Watching writer-director Alex Bates’s Occupied is equivalent to having a slice of history lesson served with drama and philosophy; and all within an unquestionably good period-setting. It is the 40s’ and in the 21:56-minute long narrative, Bates not only manages to successfully recreate the premise and the stunning imagery of the Channel Islands, but also… Continue reading Occupied: A War Drama On A Largely Overlooked Historical Event
White Feather: Reverse Symbol Of Hateful Fervour
Daniel Arbon’s White Feather expresses now the empathy that the subject of his film did not receive in his own time. Set in post-WWI Britain, the film in slow, long takes, follows George E. Arbon in his present-day and pained flashbacks of the three years past. The scenery is gorgeously green, evincing the absence of… Continue reading White Feather: Reverse Symbol Of Hateful Fervour
Holdout: Thirty Odd Years Of Isolation And Loyalty
Brian L. Tan’s Holdout distinguishes itself by its detailed storytelling; Holdout tells the true story of a Japanese lieutenant in WWII who, not believing that Japan had surrendered, held out in a Phillipine jungle for nearly thirty years. Tan, with Christina Burlison’s screenplay, recreates this faithfully, including almost every detail with creativity, so that it… Continue reading Holdout: Thirty Odd Years Of Isolation And Loyalty
Fallen Short Film Review: The Merits of Narration
A sensory experience, Fallen relays the tale of love and waiting between Gilbert, a soldier driven by his sense of duty, and his beloved. Written and directed by Spencer Anderson, Fallen uses a non-linear narrative, going back and forth between the past and the present as well as different narrators. Fallen is an entirely narrated… Continue reading Fallen Short Film Review: The Merits of Narration