around the bend

Doodlebug by Christopher Nolan

Eh, I am not this film’s biggest fan. The beginning with the eyeballs lasted far too long and quickly became cheesy. It reminded me of a murder mystery party or something of the like. When the film spans to the man, I immediately think he is a drug addict or has a mental issue. 

Nolan does a very excellent job in creating the eerie atmosphere with the off putting music and drastic shadows and darkness of the man. I rewatched the short to see if the man paralleled the small man the whole time, but it was only at the end where his actions were slightly delayed from the actions of the small man.

I do like the twist of this short, it is just not my favorite. Because he is running from the bigger man, I understood his insanity and anxiety by the end.

I’m not entirely sure of the phone call. What if the man was expecting the little man to call him? That’s what I took from his disappointment and irrational behavior when it was not who he expected or wanted. This detail left me a little flustered.

This short was okay in my books. Not my favorite, but it certainly has a very interesting plotline and twist.  

(Source: youtube.com)

The Incident 

The Incident is an incredible breathtaking short with such emotional baggage, beautiful cinematography and fascinating acting. I was left stewing the traumatic details of this film well after is ended, and, it is safe to say, will think about it more tomorrow as the day goes on. I found myself thinking throughout the entire film what I would do if that situation occurred to me and I have no idea. What would anybody do? The rational human being says “i would call 911”, but you never know what you would do in such an emotional, heart-wrenching situation. 

However, as I watched Michal  cross the bridge in the last brief moments of the short, I had this grand realization that none of this may have happened. Yes, on the surface the events literally occurring still provide the viewer with emotional tension and metaphorical ideas, but if the man was a figment of Michal’s imagination, the viewer has a glimpse into the deep psyche of Michal and his issues of living in a “grown-up” world. 

From the beginning we could tell that Michal was at a standstill. He was always happy when he was with his woman, but she was moving on, getting a job, and living her own life. His lack of knowledge about his future career made him entirely anxious and defeated. So as his wife/girlfriend goes to her real life job, Michal is left to ponder why is at the house, why he is not working and why he is not receiving these stellar opportunities. I found a grand significance in the juxtaposition of the  golden, sparkliness of the park in fall and Michal’s grim appearance, dark outfit and attitude. He was literally surrounded by this golden wonderland, but internally, he was stewing in his bad mood. And as he sits on the seat, his conscience, the grumpy bike man, comes along and verbally attacks Michal, bringing attention to his moody blues. 

Michal tries to avoid his conscience by shoving it away and it causes more damage than he intended. He now had to look at his life and figure out the way in which to hide his fear and morbid attitude.

He “drags” it into the woods and hopes this is an adequate place for him to avoid rational thinking and expressing his beliefs to everybody around him. It isn’t adequate. I do notice, however, that whenever he is with his girlfriend, he feels at home and puts on this show to convince her that he is okay. Deep down, the “dead body ” (his conscience) is weighing him down, so he revisits his feelings. He doesn’t like them, he covers them up more. He goes back, he searches for the reason why he should come to terms with his sadness and why he is scared. Then, he finds the image of the man’s wife and is reminded profoundly of his own love interest. She is a reason to revisit his conscience. 

In the end, when he finally cracks and his fear about life comes through, he gets over the fact that he needs to revisit his conscience because he did what his conscience had been nagging him to do the whole time. 

This is just an idea. there are some flaws in it, but I jut felt this deep urge that it could be a possibility for the film. 

That being said, both sides of the story are justifiable and incredible nonetheless.  I really enjoyed the details of the man watching cartoons and the laughing cellphone ring and crying baby. The man watches the cartoons to almost regain some of his innocence. He wanted to forget the pain of the dead man or the weight of his grown up conscience, so he watched cartoons. The laugh was also very significant to me because he turns it off and almost seconds later a baby starts crying in the background. He pushes the innocent jovial laugh aside and a sobbing, upset noise enters. 

I really liked everything about this film. It is remarkable in every way. 

Bean Cake by David Greenspan

Its the little things in life. For me, a perfectly concocted cup of coffee, Dexter marathons, a successful trip at goodwill, and pumpkin bread are some of the things that make me happiest. For Taro, it is red bean cakes. 

Whenever it was my first day of school, my mom would always make me my favorite breakfast to calm my anxious back to school jitters. I immediately connected to Taro because his mom made him his favorite food before his big first day of school. Also, the viewers can relate to Taro because he was the awkward looking kid that wore goofy clothes to his first day of school. All of us have memories of being the odd one out that is made a spectacle of in front of their class. It’s part of life. 

What I really enjoyed most about this short was the storyline. This storyline, although common and overused, was made unique by including japanese culture. There will always be the kind, considerate friend to be by your side, but, usually, this plot doesn’t come with the struggle of worshipping an emperor or having communist ideals. That adds a heavy struggle to the shoulders of this already uncomfortable day for Taro. 

The film work of this piece was well down and made the transition to the past much easier. 

In the end, Taro finally found the courage to change his beliefs due to the girl’s willingness to be kind and warmhearted towards him. He still has those little things that make him happy (like those delicious bean cakes), but he realizes that in order to make others happy, he must accept the truth of the world around him.

I enjoyed this short thoroughly. 

(Source: youtube.com)

Post-It Love 

This short is adorable. Everything sums up perfectly to create this cutesy love story: the music, the characters, and post-it-art. 

The music was the main thing that i noticed about this story. It reminded me very much of fairies and unicorns, thus I knew this short would not be sad and painfully depressing within the first five seconds of the film. That is a grand power for the music to carry and it is used brilliantly.

The other thing that I loved so much about this short was the ability to have two characters to show eachother they are in love without speaking a single word. The director focuses on the emotional reactions of these two lovebirds, and, although that is a difficult thing to act out, these two actors embody the emotions of falling in love to a t. Watching the joy spread across every square inch of the woman’s face was pure magic and the perfect way in which to end this film.

The use of a boring, day-to-day office supply to depict the blossoming adoration was also very fun to me. Nobody ever thinks of sticky notes as a way to paint a picture, but they prove that they are the perfect way to brighten up their workspace. 

Awkward office romances always appeal to me ( Jim and Pam had me hooked from the first episode), so I am not at all surprised that this short made my day. It may not be my favorite for its lack of deep thematic detail and information that make me ponder life, but it is a wonderful and very effective short film.

(Source: youtube.com)