Short Film Movie Review

Film Review: THE FRUIT MACHINE (Canada, LGBT/Drama)

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Review by Kierston Drier

Based on true historical events that played out during the cold war in Canada, FRUIT MACHINE, directed by Omer Khan and written by Tavish Gudgeon, is a strong and compelling piece about social mores, and the epic divide between our love for our country, and our love for each other. Against the backdrop of war and the social stigma of homosexaulity, our hero, Marleau  is forced to submit to a bizarre and brutal test called “The Fruit Machine” but it forces him to recount the warm, and also painful memories of his relationship with Sam- who enlisted before him.

 

And although Marleau doesn’t want him to go, Sam is committed to serve his country. But when Sam returns to find Marleau in the arms of a woman their relationship and communication comes to an abrupt stop. Marleau is tormented by the one-who-got-away, and whatever happened to him.

 

For a film so short, it captures with strikingly articulate pain the sense of tragedy and pride in the hearts of young men going to war. But underneath that age-old story is something even more emotionally compelling- the love between two people who must hide their feelings for each other and when they are ripped apart, they are not even given the courtesy to mourn the loss of that love- as it is forbidden. Beautifully shot, exceptionally well casted and compellingly written and performed, THE FRUIT MACHINE is an engaging and dramatic performance. A brilliant retelling of a disturbing part of Canadian history, but story worth hearing at all costs.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of the Short Film:

THE FRUIT MACHINE, 16min., Canada, LGBT/Drama
Directed by Omer KhanDuring the 1950’s and 60’s, at the height of the Cold War, the Canadian government was doing everything it could to gain an advantage. Major shifts were happening within the RCMP, military, and civil services. A device was introduced to test the stress levels of workers by measuring pupillary response to certain images. This device was called: The Fruit Machine.

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Film Review: TEARS IN THE RAIN, South Africa, Fan Fiction/Sci-Fi 

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TEARS IN THE RAIN, directed by Christopher Harvey, is an eleven minutes fan-fiction short film coming out of South Africa, that is inspired by the works of Philip K Dicks’ novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? As well as the motion picture Blade Runner. Our hero is met unexpectedly at a restaurant to be terminated by an insurance worker. But while the irreversible termination takes place our hero frantically tries to reason with his assailant that there has been a terrible mistake- he is not, in fact, a machine, but a real person. The back-and-forth continues, scratching the surface of morality, philosophy, technology and our transhuman future. But when the end finally comes, our insurance villain realizes that he may have actually terminated not something- but someone.

A love letter that pays homage to some of the great creative media works of our age, TEARS IN THE RAIN does justice to the fiction is draws its inspiration from. Excellently cast, brilliantly acted and incredibly powerful (although surprisingly simple) this is a film that reminds us that we do not need million-dollar special effects to create a story with edge-of-your-seat intensity. Well done, Christopher Harvey, well done.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 FANTASY/SCI-FI Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

TEARS IN THE RAIN, 11min., South Africa, Fan Fiction/Sci-Fi 
Directed by Christopher Harvey 

Tears In The Rain is a short film set in the world of Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) as well as the motion picture Blade Runner (1982).

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Film Review: BACK PAGE RIPPER, USA, Sci-Fi/Mystery 

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BACK PAGE RIPPER a five minute American Science-fiction film from Stephen Rutterford, follows a young woman on a hunt to find the monster that has been terrorizing the city. It’s crime? Ripping the back pages out of books. When she finally catches sight of the monster, she must chase it- forever searching to the end of every story. But how will her story resolve when she finally catches up to a monster who steals endings?

What makes this slender short film so fascinating is its inception-style resolution. We never get to see the ending of the story. Why? Because this science-fiction film reflects real life. We never get to know the end of our story- we aren’t supposed to. That is half the fun of reading the book. Does our heroine make her own ending? Can she wrestle one out of the monster that steals all written resolutions?

BACK PAGE RIPPER has a wonderful, noir, pulp-fiction vibe to it (yes, pun intended) and the tone fits beautifully with the fantastical notion of a villainous creature stealing the endings of stories. A gritty yet fantastical film, and a joy to watch.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 FANTASY/SCI-FI Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

BACK PAGE RIPPER, 5min. USA, Sci-Fi/Mystery 
Directed by Stephen RutterfordA girl must solve the mystery of who ripped the last page out of her mystery novel.

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Film Review: LILITH, USA, Sci-Fi/Drama 

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LILITH is a nineteen minute American Science-fiction drama directed by David Odio. Set is terrifying dystopian world where beautiful women are held as trinket commodities  in captivity and taught only one decorative skill, LILITH tells the story of one such woman who bucks the broken system. Though it costs her dearly, her break with the world of patriarchal society will set her free.

Dark and sinister with its undertones, LILITH is a film that takes real issues in society and distills them down through a nearly fantastical lense of science-fiction. Sexism in it’s most extreme is showcased in LILITH, as a way to hold up a mirror to modern-day inequality. We can be entertained safely by such films, because they are so much more hyperbolic than our own world…or are they?

Truly well-made science-fiction asks us to think about our world in relation to the world the story tells. The world Lilith comes from is dangerous, gritty and horribly defeatist for any female- doomed to a short life lived as a sex doll of s service provider for the dominate male class. What does LILITH say as a film? It asks us to examine how different or how similar its’ world is from our own- are we frighteningly close to the world our heroine comes from?

But within every dystopia, there is cause for hope. And there is no lack of hope in LILITH. For within the titular character lies a grit and determination that she follows to the extreme- and it leads her to brighter tomorrow.

A sharp, deep, dark and compelling rollercoaster of social commentary on our world, LILITH is a powerful film indeed.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 FANTASY/SCI-FI Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

LILITH, 19min., USA, Sci-Fi/Drama 
Directed by David Odio

Set in a gritty, dystopian society, women are collected as commodities and taught only one designated skill. When a young girl named Lilith defies the system, her curiosity challenges the patriarchal rule and the city’s way of life.

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Film Review: MONSIEUR HERNST, France, Sci-Fi/Drama 

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MONSIEUR HERNST a 15 minute French film directed by Cappello Vincent, follows a man and his therapist as he tries to recapture his identity by moving back through moments of his own life. With striking moments of detail, Monsieur Hernst recounts his life’s most important moments- moving around a central traumatic event that started him losing his memory in the first place.

A special note about this film is the incredible performances. Both Monsieur Hernst and his therapist navigate a non-linear storyline, characterized by non-sequential fragments of Hernst’s life. Yet the story is easy to put together, and this is largely because the performers are so detailed and meticulous in their interpretations. Their jobs are not easy, in recounting Mr. Hernsts most jarring, emotional, important or traumatic moments, and the details make them comprehensible. Balanced, well executed and wonderfully put together, MONSIEUR HERNST is a delightful and compelling piece of cinematic storytelling.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 FANTASY/SCI-FI Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

MONSIEUR HERNST, 15min., France, Sci-Fi/Drama 
Directed by Cappello VincentMr. HERNST has forgotten everything, even his own identity. Facing him, his doctor pushes trough the ages of his life trying to recover the memory of the event that made him forget everything.

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Film Review: SKIN DEEP, UK, Fantasy 

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How far would you go to recapture the passion of young love? How far would you go for vanity? How far would you go to put the spark back in your marriage? SKIN DEEP, a twenty minute UK film directed by Tim Willrich, tackles these complex problems through the lense of science-fiction.. When Millie feels unnoticed and unattractive in her stale marriage, she orders a mysterious miracle cream online. But it does more than just refresh her pores- it gives her an entirely new face and body. Initially attracted to the new look, the sparks fly between her and her husband- until Millie becomes obsessed with the many different bodies she can inhabited.  Increasingly uncomfortable with his wife regularly changing into a different person, the marriage becomes strained. Finally, Millie runs out of her product.

Metaphor intended, what makes SKIN DEEP a fascinating piece, is that it goes so much deeper than the surface. It is not simply a movie about a couple revitalizing their marriage with some new tricks- it is about a film about the illusions we engage in for love. It is a film that dissects the lengths we will go to for a sense of romantic security- and how those lengths often backfire is strange and horrible ways.

Gorgeous performances and wonderfully communicated despite the minimal (yet effective) script, SKIN DEEP is a strong, smoldering and fascinating science fiction film.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 FANTASY/SCI-FI Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

SKIN DEEP, 20min., UK, Fantasy 
Directed by Tim Willrich

Obsessed by appearance, a woman applies mysterious cream to help reignite her stagnant marriage. But when her skin peels away, her obsession soon turns his fantasy into a nightmare.

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Film Review: BREAKER, Japan/Canada, Sci-Fi/Action

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BREAKER, an eleven minute Japanese-Canadian Science Fiction short, directed by Philippe McKie, will take you on a wild ride through time, space and technology. When our heroine, an advanced freelance technology hacker, has her own mind hacked by a digital data weapon, she is forced to follow the data weapons’ instructions to claim her own mind back. The data weapon can help our hero, but it is also desperate to get itself to a place with wifi, so it can upload itself out of her brain and into cyberspace where it can be safe. But when our heroine is badly injured, can the data-weapon help save- if not her body, her mind?

What makes this piece wonderful, other than the colorful quality production value, the stunning visual effects and the high-concept story, is the writing. Without spoon-feeding the crowd, this story carries with it the rich and complex world-building you expect to see in a feature, but are privileged to get in a short. BREAKER will pull you in with it’s entertaining surface layer of action and plot, but dig just a bit deeper and it leads you to think about the nature of our reality, our minds, what it means to be sentient and alive. For science-fiction lovers, it is a fascinating piece that will suck you in a leave you wanting more.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 FANTASY/SCI-FI Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

BREAKER, 10min., Japan/Canada, Sci-Fi/Action
Directed by Philippe McKie

In tomorrow’s Tokyo, the technologically-enhanced body of a young mercenary hacker is overrun by a sentient data weapon. Wanted, the parasitic A.I becomes her only ally as she is chased across the city by those seeking to salvage it.

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Film Review: THE WRITER’S WOMAN, Mexico, Romance/Drama

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Hot and smoldering with intensity, THE WRITERS WOMAN is a piece about love, jealousy, and control. This 23 minute mexican film coming to us from director Leslie Aldana, is a masterful work of cinematic seduction.

Our heroine is in love with her husband. Her husband is in love with her. But he also has affairs. So she decides to have one of her own, with a beautiful woman he has been eyeing. And when the three all get together at last the tension is equal parts sexually exciting and painfully tense.

What is so vibrant about this film isn’t just the slowly burning sexual fire ever present within the characters, or the fantastic performances, or even the larger free-love philosophy constrained by societal stigma. What is fascinating is that this story revolves around a mature relationship- a couple that has been married decades. Unlike young love, so prone to jealousy and heartbreak, this relationship has stood the test of time and still falls victim to the fears and insecurities that claim so many young lovers. What THE WRITERS WOMAN reminds us, in its own tragic, beautiful and sensual way, is that we are never too old to hurt. Exceptional performances and gorgeously composed, THE WRITERS WOMAN will take your breath away.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 ROMANCE Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

THE WRITER’S WOMAN, 23min., Mexico, Romance/Drama
Directed by Leslie Aldana

At the end of the 1940s, the poetess Helena is the couple of acclaimed writer Martin. She constantly knows that Martin has had different lovers, before the anguish of losing him decides to seduce the one who could become the next lover. A game of power and jealousy is transformed into a new love story, which fades the search for a structured love imposed by society for a free love regardless of gender.

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Film Review: 116, USA, Romance/Experimental 

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A beautiful mature woman wakes up in a hotel with a beautiful young man. Sounds great yes? Certainly. What follows is an sizzling experimental romantic piece- the dialogue utilizing only lines from Shakespeare’s sonnets. 116, directed by Julia Campanelli, will delight a Shakespeare lover. And if you are not a lover of Shakespeare, then you will love the rich and sumptuous details loving woven into this piece. It sizzles and crackles with sexual energy and rich and lush sense of heavy dramatic style.

Being and experimental film, it is best to go into 116 with an open mind, as it is highly interpretive. We do not know the relationship of the man and woman (although we can guess, wink, wink) There sensual, passionate, dramatic yet playful struggles are not made overtly clear by the use of the minimalist interpretive scripts of Shakespeare’s sonnets. But 116 is a delight to watch. It has intensity, romance and sparkles with lust. Who wouldn’t love it?

116, 15min., USA, Romance/Experimental 
Directed by Julia CampanelliLove – no bed of roses.
A woman wakes up in a hotel room with a younger man at her side. She insists he leave, he resists, and the struggle begins.

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Film Review: GOD CAME ‘ROUND, Italy, Romance/Comedy 

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This five minute romantic comedy from Italy is a bizarrely literal take on a music video. Sandeep (Deep Roy), a flower peddler who can’t catch a break, falls passionately in love with a beautiful passerby he believes to be the girl of his dreams. She, however, doesn’t feel the same way. Sandeep is dragged through depression, hope, despair and desperation while trying to win her affections.

Utterly hilarious with its vibrance, literal comedy and the wonderful performance stylings of Deep Roy, GOD CAME ROUND will make you laugh. A comical trip worthy of watching for its absurdist comic style and total commitment to literal humor. The piece sparkles with Deep Roy as the star and Derek Fey’s direction is sharp and effective. A film to sure to entertain.

Review by Kierston Drier

Film played at the 2018 ROMANCE Film Festival on Valentine’s Day in downtown Toronto, Canada

WATCH the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

GOD CAME ‘ROUND, 5min, Italy, Romance/Comedy 
Directed by Derek Frey Down on his luck flower seller Sandeep (played by Deep Roy) pines to make a connection with the girl of his dreams.

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