Shorties #12: Short Film Edition

To mix things up, I thought I’d for once review a handful of short films. They won’t all be in English, keep that in mind. Here are the shorts that I’ll take a look at: The Fall, Text Me, Hello, Again, Ape and Die Telefonistin.

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The acting in The Fall wasn’t anything spectacular, especially the actors’ gestures felt really awkward and unnatural. Their facial expressions, on the other hand, were pretty good. The man behind the camera was more talented than the two in front of it. Kristof Hoornaert rarely switched camera heights and angles and he often let it stand still in one place for quite some time, which gave the short a very distinct atmosphere. The lack of movements and cuts also made the short feel longer than it actually was. Overall, it’s a bit too long for my liking, especially for the lack of things that happen in the short film. The story he tried to capture, was pretty decent and it caused for some interesting character dynamics, though not really something we’ve never seen before.

Grade: C+

You can watch the short here (it’s in Flemish, so it’s probably only for the Belgians and the Dutch who’re reading this), but only if you live in Europe and you’ll have to make an account to watch it! https://www.vrt.be/vrtnu/a-z/the-fall0/2013/the-fall0-s2013/

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Text Me consists of terrible sound design, bad acting, bad editing, and even worse writing. The shot-reverse-shot technique the short utilizes is nothing new, nor is it a sign that a competent director is behind the wheel. The short’s boring, unoriginal and the themes it wants to criticize have been criticized numerous times and it’s also been done better those times. I’d skip this one if I were you.

Grade F

Here’s a link if you still feel the need to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_d2Vxc6No8&t=137s

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Hello, Again was one of the best short films out of the bunch; the writing was good, the cinematography looked great, the well-made soundtrack added some emotional punch to the short, and the film had its own style. The thing that really stood out, though, was the incredible acting by two leads, Naomi Scott and Jack Brett Anderson. They had great chemistry together and they were both able to convey their characters’ emotions really well. The short was funny, saddening and it makes you care about the characters, all within the timespan of ten minutes. The only two criticisms that I have is that it took a bit too much time setting itself up and that the editing at the start could be odd, but other than that, it’s great.

Grade: A-

Here’s a link if you want to watch it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h21uXo1_Iz4

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Ape was probably the best short on my list. Josh Hutcherson gives a fantastic performance, though in this one he operated equally as good behind the camera as he did in front of it. It’s the most original short out of the bunch and Hutcherson’s the cause of that. His way of utilizing hand-held versus steady cam really shone here as he used it to portray his characters inner feelings. The visual representation of said characters mental health issues was as a whole handled really well, capturing the paranoia with mirrors and the voices in his head with a psychotic woman he keeps on seeing. It’s all done really well and I’m looking forward to what Hutcherson’s going to direct next!

Grade: A

Here’s a link to the short:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uySyI3IxUA

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The last short a saw was in German and it was decent. Not great, not bad, it was just okay. The short had some good things going for it, but also some bad things. The way the dialogue at the beginning of Die Telefonistin was edited, was really odd and awkward and it felt choppy. The crossfading also felt like a cliché technique to portray the character’s feelings and the weird face the actress is making while it’s all happening, didn’t really help to add to the serious tone the short’s striving for. Other than that, the cinematography was pretty good and the costuming felt authentic. The director’s visual storytelling was great and he was also able to create a fairly decent resolution that doesn’t see the viewer as stupid but lets them draw their own conclusions.

Grade: B-

Here’s a link, but keep in mind that it’s in German, though even if you don’t understand the dialogue, you’ll understand the general story due to the visual storytelling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTWS418EEmQ

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And those are all the short’s I’ve something to say about. Should I do this more often, or not? Comment down below!

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