When the fourth wall breaks, a young filmmaker must find his inner creative confidence and take control of his story before it takes control of the world around him.

Review by Victoria Angelique

The path filmmakers take isn’t an easy one, particularly when strong personalities enter the picture, which is depicted in HERO’S JOURNEY. Artists are typically quiet and just want to get their vision completed in the least continuous way possible. The majority of creative people are like the protagonist, Cal, as he bites his tongue to let Tommy override his vision. 

Cal is the epitome of most independent filmmakers. He wants to complete his film, but Tommy is calling the shots and no one wants to call out his ego. Tommy is the egoistical actor that projects his own insecurities onto Cal and the Stuntman to dominate the set. When Tommy is finally called out for his behavior, he tries to silence Cal by reversing the script to accuse the filmmaker of doing everything that Tommy has done since the beginning of the shoot. 

Once everything goes quiet, Cal is able to focus as he attempts to rewrite the story to appease Tommy’s massive ego. This is the moment in the short film when the mind of an artist literally comes to life. If anyone doesn’t understand the way filmmaking or artistry works, this would be the film to watch. Cal’s characters literally come out to meet him as they play out the story in front of him. This is how most stories come to life for writers, they can see and hear their characters as if they are standing directly in front of them, just like Cal’s characters.

It is this moment that gives Cal the ability to fight for his story and fire Tommy. He knows his characters better than the egotistical actor that claims to have connections, when really Tommy simply doesn’t not want to be called out for his atrocious behavior. Cal is able to fight for the story he envisioned because his characters are people that he knows and loves. He created them and the only way his film will be a product he’s happy with will be if the vision reflects his story.