Short Film Movie Review

Movie Review: HOW TO BE ALONE (Israel), LGBT, Drama

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Played at the June 2017 LGBT Toronto Film Festival

Directed by Erez Eisenstein

Relying on “How To Be Alone” – a self-improvement audio book – a heartbroken woman, struggling with her lonesome existence, decides to embrace solitude and to learn how to survive without love. 

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Review by Kierston Drier

 HOW TO BE ALONE is a pensive film. Coming to us from Israel from director Erez Eisentein, this is a piece that makes you question introversion and healing from a broken heart. Our heroine, a newly single woman gets a self-help audio book about solitude, and following its’ advice, beings to live a life alone.

Regardless of the stoic, yet occasionally humorous advice the audio-book gives her, our protagonist can not seem to shake the image of her lover from her mind. Can her life be lead to it’s fullest without love in it? Will this book with it’s lonely advice deliver her to happiness and self-sufficiency, or will it drive her crazy?

This piece is a thinking piece. It takes us in, and engulfs us in our hero’s world so completely, that by the emotionally packed final scenes we are left to wonder if the book is real, or if it is all in her head.

A testament to good filmmaking, by the end of this film, we watch our hero take a plunge to get her lover back, and we are filled with the overwhelming urge to tell her to stop. Only a well crafted film could make a viewer feel so strongly for the hero’s well being.

Eisenstein has done an excellent job on examining love and human relationships through the lenses of solitude, while crafting emotion with a character that rarely speaks in the film. Silence and space are characters as much as our hero and her lover are. An introspective and poignant cinematic short.

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Movie Review: WAJOOD (SELFHOOD) (India) LGBT, Drama/Romance

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Played at the June 2017 LGBT Toronto Film Festival

Directed by Vishal Srivastava

Revolves around a young hijra’s (trans-woman) life, who seems to fancy herself with an auto-rickshaw driver. When confronted by the elders of her community about her unrealistic expectations, she goes on a quest to know if somebody will ever fall in love with her or is this thought as naive as told by everyone around her? 

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Review by Kierston Drier

WAJOOD, or Selfhood, is a powerful short coming to us from Indian by director Vishal Srivastava. Bright with colors and boasting gorgeous cinematography, this piece sheds light on a little known part of Indian culture. The Hijra, known as the Third Gender, are a community of transwomen who are often misunderstood and shunned in society.

Yet WAJOOD takes a look at this section of society kind, compassionate and sensitive eyes. We follow our heroine through her emotional journey of dissecting her sense of self. She pines for the attractive rickshaw driver near her community, and wakes every morning to watch him. But her community members remind her that there is no future for people like herself. Her fate has been determined- she is not to be understood, and not to find conventional love. Her life, will be a lonely one. Yet a kind stranger will change her mind about what it means to be who she is.

What make WAJOOD special is it’s bravery. It tackles a topic worthy of discussion, about a group deserving of attention. More than that, it stands before adversity and shouts for recognition. But it will charm you as it does so. It will charm you with its stunning images, it’s entrancing music and it’s’ undeniably lovable and sympathetic main character.

If you watch WAJOOD, you may not identify with my main character right away, but you will love her. WAJOOD reminds us that we are far more similar that we are different.

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Movie Review: SHAPING SCARS (UK) LGBT, Dance

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Played at the June 2017 LGBT Toronto Film Festival

Directed by Zsolti Szabo

A dance journey about two girls who once loved each other, but while one is able to embrace herself openly (and therefore their relationship), the other is struggling to step into the light and shake off her demons.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Review by Kierston Drier

This 7 minute UK experimental Dance piece is a gorgeous intimate dance piece set to a riveting and sparkling slam poem. Director Zsolti Szabo must be commended on the vision behind the work, for not only is a stunning visual dance performance, but film captures its intricacies and puts the performers talents under a microscope.

Two dancer go through the motions (both symbolically and literally) of a relationship gone wrong. Beautifully choreographed and light, a special nod must be given to the performers who engage in the incredibly intricate dance and the spoken word artist who performs the piece.

What sets this piece apart from the usual, is the camera work! The shots in this piece give the feeling that you are standing right beside the dancers. Turely, as much choreography was needed for the camera person as for the dancers themselves. If the film is the eye through which we see this art, then SHAPING SCARS invites you to join the dance.

The film itself has a deeper symbolic meaning as well. Our dancers are partners, but their love is not meant to be. Perhaps what is so touching about this piece is that underneath the vibrant poetics and stunning visuals is a message: that it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. A film worth seeing, if for nothing else than that.

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Movie Review: THE 3RD TRY (USA) LGBT, Drama

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Played at the June 2017 LGBT Toronto Film Festival

Directed by Alfonso Rodriguez

An emotionally unstable lesbian couple tries to find solace after experiencing a traumatic loss.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Review by Kierston Drier

In 5 short minutes, this USA film directed by Alfonso Rodriguez will pull you in, break your heart and fill you with hope. Efficient, cutting and a packing a home-run in right in the “feels” The 3rd Try is nothing short of breath taking in its simplicity.

We barely know our main characters, except that they are couple desperate to turn their loving union into a bigger family, but for whatever reason they are never able to have a child.

Part of what is excellent about this piece, is that is not weighed down with expositional, and unnecessary dialogue. It doesn’t tell you what is exactly causing the couple’s’ pain- just that, once again, they are not having the baby they were hoping for.

It is a pain not exclusive to the LGTB community, but a pain certainly not foreign to the community either. The hope, joy, anxiety, disappointment and pain associated with expectation and loss of a child is universal. That is one of the strongest parts of this piece- anyone who has ever contemplated the love and loss of anticipated parenthood is included in this couples tragedy.

But what sets this film above others is its unquestioning resilience. Every tragedy must include hope. And this piece does not fail to deliver that either.

If you have a heart, The 3rd Try will move you. Exceptionally well acted and exquisitely cast, beautifully simply and utterly impactful, this is a film not to miss.

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Film Review: CARGO (Netherlands)

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Played at the May 2017 EUROPEAN Short Film Festival

Poster cargo small

On a lonely ship, in the middle of the North Sea, fourteen men work together for a month. Day and night they sail around oilrigs to provide them of supplies. In this world of fellowship, waves, storms and containers, Frans, an Amsterdam sailor, seems to be at his best. However, the longer the journey lasts, the more it becomes apparent that something essential is missing in this male microcosm at sea. A small film about loneliness and the importance of love.

 

Review by Kierston Drier

CARGO a documentary about love, family and men at sea, will pull on your heart. It follows the 14 men that make up a deep sea water crew, and their time away from their families while out. Gone for long stretches of time, the crew make peace with themselves by reliving their youth, their young loves, talking of their families, their children, their birthdays.

Like any good documentary, the filming team captures moments of the crew where they take no notice of the bulky machine recording their lives. Instead, the camera floats among them like a phantom, seeing the moments they hide from the rest of the world- a birthday shared at sea, a long-lost love, a phone call home to one’s’ children: Daddy will be home soon.

Another remarkable thing about CARGO and to director Marina Meijer’s credit- is the spectacular B-Roll in this piece. Bright colors, remarkable shots and beautiful moments litter this film like gems along the ocean floor. They elevate this piece to a mastery level.

You may never have spent a day at sea, but you will feel the ocean mist on your skin while you watch CARGO.


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Film Review: FAREWELL (Switzerland)

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Played at the May 2017 EUROPEAN Short Film Festival

Plakat

What happens if you want to say goodbye to a loved one but this suddenly no longer find ? The short film “Farewell” tells how want to accompany a group of friends with different characters their deceased friend and brother on a last trip and so much goes wrong.

In bizarre and comical way this short satire will pull you in its spell – and what, if such a thing happened once to me?

Review by Kierston Drier

When we love something, we let it go. Right? It is certainly something we have all been taught. But when you have your buddy’s urn with his ashes in it, you might want to keep it where you know you can find it- just in case. But for five friends charged with the task of caring for their dead friend’s ashes, things don’t go so smoothly.

Enter FAREWELL, a comedy with a curious mixture of strange happenings and humor styles. The dialogue is punchy, the action is raucous and outlandish and the tone is similar to Analyze That with it’s back to back escalation of unbelievable stakes.

Our heroes lose their friend while out to dinner before delivering him to have his ashes scattered. Where they find him? Well they need to backtrack through their steps, stopping at the restaurant, tracking down the waitresses, going through the kitchen and…well things only get more complicated from there.

Boasting some hilarious twists and turns and some great recurring humor, every character in the piece is bright, sharp and full of life. A great piece about learning not to take life too seriously.

Film Review: SEEDS (UK)

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Played at the May 2017 EUROPEAN Short Film Festival

A young female astronaut trains for the first expedition to Mars.

 

Review by Kierston Drier

A gorgeous and deeply layered piece of cinema, SEEDS does what all science-fiction genre piece hope to do: dissect a part of our modern world by throwing it through the lense of the future. A young female astronaut must decide to leave her brother (the only family she has) to go into isolation training for a settlement to be built on Mars. She will likely never return. There is an echo of other well loved science fiction pieces like “The Martian”, or even “Stranded” in this piece, although in SEEDS, our heroine is only prepping for her journey. But this film, like others before it, puts human relationships under a microscope through the examination of isolation and space. Bravo to SEEDS for being able to do this in a short film format.

Our heroine has not yet left Earth, but she is already worlds apart from her brother. Emotionally, they must make peace with one another before she leaves. But what he views as abandonment, she views as her ultimate sacrifice to her home- rising a colony on another planet may pave the way to ensure human survival for generations to come.

Science fiction is a genre used to soften the blow of asking really hard questions. SEEDS fits perfectly within its’ medium: It asks us to look at human relationships and the difficult feelings of isolation, separation and loss. It is palatable for us, because it is accompanied by the fantastical, beautiful, adventurous notion of crossing the boundaries of our own world. It asks us a big question: Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Would your love for your family keep you from being part of the journey that could save the world? Our Heroine has asked herself this. To find her answer, you’ll have to watch SEEDS.


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Film Review: STATE OF EMERGENCY MOTHERFUCKER

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Played at the May 2017 EUROPEAN Short Film Festival

1 yassine fadel

This is the story of two young guys without any trouble who just want to « screw »
without being disturbed.« State of Emergency motherfucker» is a surrealistic comedy
that depicts a society where police violence and invasion of privacy are daily routine, normal, tedious. The victims themselves are used to it. Even the police is used to it! Every day, they get back at it. Samy and Mehdi aren’t even paying attention to it anymore… the viewer neither. The real question of the movie is to finally discover if Samy did get some on the night of Valentine’s…

Review by Kierston Drier

Whether it is the eye-catching title or the vibrant opening scene that sucks you into this 5 minutes Political Satire from Belgium, once you’re in this film- you are really in it. Why? Because it simply doesn’t give you the opportunity to let go. With rapid dialogue, seamless transitions and flawless editing, this piece boasts dialogue gymnastics on top of its’ stellar performances. These factors alone are enough to impress any film critic, but STATE OF EMERGENCY MOTHERF***ER, is also making a political statement, while being hilariously funny.

How do they manage it all? It’s hard to say- because the piece is so fast, so witty, so active and so engaging, that it’s over before you’ve even had time to take in the sheer amount of work that must go into to a film.

Our piece begins with two young guys having the classic “guy-talk” about their nightly conquests, when they are carded, arrested and dragged down to a police station to be beaten and harassed. The humor comes from their casual acceptance of their circumstances, their lack of concern with the outcome, and their ability to continue their conversation without missing a beat. It is hard to say what is funnier- the actual humorous dialogue, or the context of it being said while the speakers are actively being cuffed and beaten.

What is brilliant about STATE OF EMERGENCY MOTHERF***ER is that under the comedy, is a deeply meaningful political statement about social profiling and the relationships specific communities have with government and police forces. It is hyperbolic because it must be. The controversial nature of the message behind the film means that it must be over the top and humorous- as Oscar Wilde said, “If you want to tell someone the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.”

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:


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Film Review: THE NEON STRUGGLE, 38min, USA, Documentary

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Played at the April 2017 LA FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERTHE NEON STRUGGLE, 38min, USA, Documentary
Directed by Bert Simonis

A family fights to keep their neon sign business alive as the light of the industry fades away. The process of creating these delicate signs is beautifully photographed to capture the intricacy of this populist American art form. Interviews with neon historians and experts are interspersed with vintage neon signs from across the United States.

Review by Kierston Drier:

The Neon Struggle, directed by Bert Simonis, is a story that will take you back in time. It follows one family and their small business passing down the true art and craftsmanship of building and creating Neon Lights.

There was a glorious time when Neon was new, fun, flashy and authentic. It took nearly a decade to learn the trade of sculpting, crafting, installing and repairing it A viewer may remember the day when Neon Lights were the only lights to catch your attention. But Vegas, once the Neon Capital of the world, would one day switch to LED.

And though this is a dying art, this family, with unapologetic charm, and passion, takes us through the work they do, the journey they have made through decades of lighting up the night with electric ions and phosphorescent hues.

Cinematically, this is nothing short of a colorful, and it is a piece brimming with authenticity. It is like stepping into an episode of Pawn Stars, with the cheerful characters and the educational, yet conversational atmosphere that the family creates while recounting the truly fascinating history of Neon. We wouldn’t immediately think that Neon went out of fashion for political reasons- that it was the victim of Marketing tactics hailing it as “colorful clutter” instead of the message board of the masses. That LED hit the stage in a time of Public Relations and Marketing, a platform that mom-and-pop neon shops never had been made to work within.

A fascinating look at sliver of history- a history that is as rich and bright as the lights themselves.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

Film Review: THE LONG GOODBYE: AN ALZHEIMER’S STORY, USA, Documentary

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Played at the April 2017 LA FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERTHE LONG GOODBYE: AN ALZHEIMER’S STORY, 5min, USA, Documentary
Directed by Christian J. Harris

An intimate short story about Alzheimers and it’s effect on it’s victims and caregivers. Get an inside look of what it’s like to live with this disease through the eyes of a couple who just won’t give in.

Review by Kierston Drier:

In this heart wrenching testament to love conquering all things, The Long Goodbye is The Notebook, come to life. Directed by Christian J. Harris follows a husband-wife couple, married over fifty years. The wife is slowly dying from Alzheimer’s. The husband refuses to put her in a facility.

This is a love story. A real, honest and touchingly human look at vulnerability of love. A film with no easy ending, it reminds us that love is not about the end- but the journey. It is an open love letter to all who take the leap the love demands us to take. A cinematic look at one man reaching into a void to hold on to his best friend, this is a not a film to miss.

Watch it, for the dive into a human heart. Watch it for a true story of love conquering all. Watch it to hear his wife turn to him and say “You are my best friend.” A film written, directed and starred from the bottom of many hearts, The Long Goodbye is a beautiful film.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video: