A man has
made an unusual deal which allows him to dump his father in the woods. But he
soon realises his mistake and goes back to what looks like a futuristic
department store, where he tries desperately to renege on the deal, but to no
avail. So he is left to deal with his guilt when he gets home to his wife. When
she starts talking about a muffin, he loses it. Mildly entertaining black
comedy is beautifully shot and well acted, but couldn’t quite make sense of the
second reel.
Synchronicity [Michelle Brand] ***
Another
experimental animation in which form takes precedence over content, so there’s
not an awful lot to link the animated sequences. But Michelle Brand makes sure that
the sequences blend very well. More importantly, the animation is generally
quite impressive, so she can be forgiven for any pretentiousness concerning the
meaning of all this.
The Traffic Separating Device [Johan Palmgren]
****
Quietly
entertaining documentary charts the life of a traffic separating device in
Stockholm, meant to ensure that only buses are able to cross a bridge close to
the city centre that is under construction. But that doesn’t stop a variety of
people from trying to outsmart the device, with predictable results. Palmgren
interviews some of the witless drivers that fall victim to their own stupidity,
but also speaks to passers-by who comment on the strange behaviour of the
drivers involved. There is no comment, so it’s up to you to draw any
conclusions. A fine comedy of very human errors.
Drifting Off [Mitchell van Vuren] ****
In the
Q&A afterwards director Mitchell van Vuren claimed that he is fascinated
with dreams and, in preparation to this impressive short, had watched the work
of, among others, David Lynch. Fans of the Czar of the Bizarre will recognise
this influence, particularly in the cinematography. Incredibly, Van Vuren shot
the entire film in only one day and one night, but has come up with a very
polished, dreamlike story which, like a dream, is open to interpretation. What
stands out is Van Vuren’s use of colour schemes to clarify that this short is
divided into three segments: a flashback, filmed in saturated colours; a scene
in a bar, which is beautifully lit; and finally a scene in which red is the
dominant colour. A remarkable achievement, particularly as he is able to convey
quite a number if ideas in a its 6-minute running time.
Raining Dogs [Anthony Yazbeck] ***½
A
distraught couple is driving home, but their young son Marc appears to be
oblivious of what’s happened to upset his parents. Gradually, both we and Marc
get a sense of what has happened and how Marc’s parents are trying to resolve
the situation. It’s not that hard to guess – the appearance of a dog is a bit
of a giveaway – and the resolution isn’t particularly brilliant, but good
acting and fine editing make this a worthwhile psychological drama.
School’s Out [Jamille
van Wijngaarden] ***
As someone
who quit his job as a teacher because of the way some parents trust their child
over their teacher and think they can tell teachers how to do their job, the
brilliant opening of this black comedy really hits home. Teacher Yvonne
patiently listens to Marit, whose son was recently punished for bad behaviour.
As Marit defends her son and challenges Yvonne’s dealing with the matter, the
teacher tries to deescalate and explain why she had no choice. It’s
exceptionally well-written and left me hoping that Yvonne would take matters in
her own hands. She does, but unfortunately director Jamille van Wijngaarden
trades in her initial realistic approach for a second half which quickly loses
its way and turns into a vicious, senseless rant that makes it impossible to take
any of what we’ve seen seriously. There is a brilliant joke at the end,
involving a bunch of cuddly bears, but by that time Van Wijngaarden has
overplayed her hand. Too bad she turned a serious subject into farce, but if
you’re not a teacher yourself you may not be too bothered by that.
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