Category: Short Films
Short Film Review: Bodybuilder Kim Kold is Dennis (2007) the Inspiration for Teddy Bear (2012)
*Spoilers & Such*
Dennis (Kim Kold) is an introverted bodybuilder, who lives with his elderly mother Ingrid (Elsebeth Steentoft). One day he decides to call up Patricia (Lykke Sand Michelsen), this cute chick from the gym and ask her out on a date. Suspecting that his mother won’t like him hanging out with anyone other than herself, especially not a woman, he tells her that he’s going to the movies with his friend Peter. His passive aggressive mother obviously knows that he’s lying to her and manipulates him into making him feel guilty. Mothers, right? Continue reading
Short Documentary Review: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980). Les Blank Doesn’t Show Us.
Werner Herzog bets fellow filmmaker Errol Morris that he won’t be able to complete his debut feature Gates of Heaven (1978). Herzog is so convinced that Morris won’t be able to finance and release the documentary about pet cemetery business that he’s willing to eat his shoe, if his friend should succeed. Morris does indeed succeed, but will Herzog live up to his promise? You better believe it. After boiling his boots for 5 hours with a little garlic,herbs, stock, salt and hot sauce – Guten Appetit! Continue reading
Short Film Review: Gia Coppola & Tracy Antonopoulos’ Uber Sweet “Non Plus One” (2010)
Jason Schwartzman plays a young man trying to come up with something to write in a cafe. Kirsten Dunst plays a cute waitress giving him a refill. As his eyes meet hers he is instantly starts fantasizing about what it would be like to be with her. His mind starts drifting away, as he imagines their life together. They fall in love and do a lot of silly, but cutesy little things together. It’s all (well, mostly) innocent fun, until he wakes up. Was it just a dream? Hang on: There’s a twist. Continue reading
Short Film Review: Werner Herzog Makes Ramin Bahrani’s Plastic Bag (2009) Come to Life Through His Iconic Voice
Ramin Bahrani’s Plastic Bag is exactly what you think it is: The story of a plastic bag. Not just any plastic bag: A discarded plastic bag. Abandoned by his maker, the plastic bag drifts across the landscapes of rural America (North Carolina), to finally arrive at his final destination: The ocean. Or as plastic bags call it: The vortex. Legendary film and documentary director Werner Herzog lends his warm and calming voice to the title character, a brownish plastic bag from a supermarket. Continue reading
Review: Jason Reitman’s One-Joke Short Film Consent (2004)
Judah (Todd Waldman) and Penny (Rachel Vacca) are about to get it on after a successful date. Before they can have any kind of sexual activity however they need… A condom? Nope, a sexual consent form. What’s that? Basically just a list of all the things Judah wants to do to Penny, and vice versa. While they’re at it, why not let their lawyers review the contract? Though it does ruin the mood a little. Once the two college kids went over every little detail of what they’re about to do, they’re ready to go, but surprise, surprise: Penny’s roommate walks in. Continue reading
Lukas Moodysson’s Talk (1997)
Birger Andersson (Sten Ljunggren) is a retired Volvo employee that has nobody to talk to. Feeling lonely and isolated from society he visits his former workplace everyday in hopes that ex-colleagues might still have time for him. But everybody’s busy and nobody has time for a boring old man. Birger doesn’t give up. He starts randomly calling people in the phonebook, but soon that’s no fun either. Miraculously, a young Jehovah’s witness Hare Krishna recruiter, Mahapadu (Cecilia Frode), shows up at his door. Briger isn’t interested in religious talk, but he is looking for companionship. After a couple minutes Mahapadu realizes she probably won’t make a new disciple and decides to leave, but Birger has something else in mind. Continue reading
Spike Jonze’s I’m Here (2010)
Sheldon (Andrew Garfield) is a lonely robot living in LA, where he works as a librarian. His life is repetitive and melancholy, until he meets the cute, but troubled humanoid Francesca (Sienna Guillory). Sheldon falls in love with Francesca. They go to parties and concerts together, but one night something goes horribly wrong and Francesca loses her arm. From there things escalate, until the inevitable end. Continue reading
Sofia Coppola’s Lick the Star (1998)
Chloe (Audrey Kelly) is the school’s ‘queen bee’ obsessed with Virginia Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic. Bored with school and somewhat annoyed with the immature boys her age, she and the girls in her clique start scheming something strange. Lick the star is the name of their ‘extra-scholastic’ project involving the boy’s lunches, rat poison and raw eggs. However before Chloe is able to carry out her evil plan some false rumors about her are spread around school. All of a sudden she’s not the ‘superstar’ anymore, but the one being bullied. Sick of being made fun of, she decides to go the melodramatic route trying to end her life. Continue reading
Jørgen Leth’s Det perfekte menneske (1967)
Shot in beautiful, bright, black & white, Jørgen Leth’s The Perfect Man, although literally “the perfect human begin” (which makes more sense since there’s also a woman in it) is one of the most perplexing and unique short films ever made. While short films are usually played for laughs or a punch line, Det perfekte menneske is more interested in aesthetics than making a point. The film doesn’t have a narrative in a strict sense, but simply presents us with mundane activities and facts revolving around the perfect human being. Adding a layer of mystery and surreal, the perfect human himself directly addresses his audience telling us about a weird incident that happened to him. Although we don’t get what he really means, at the end of the film he explains that we will understand “in a few days”. Continue reading
black is white 