EIFF Review: International Shorts – Package I

Filed under: Reviews

This first of four series of international shorts (still mostly Canadian and American) was a pleasant surprise. Being just a regular moviegoer doesn't often afford the opportunity to see short films in theatres or otherwise. So here I am and there they are.

Package I had 8 films in total and together they all came in at about 80 minutes. The Mall Man, Corona Station, My '48 Pontiac, The Execution of Margot Rumbe, Stumble, then Rise on Some Awkward Morning, Rumpy, Commentary: ON, and Hogtown Blues were presented.

They were mostly good, but some lacked in story fulfillment and maintaining audience interest. Specifically, Corona Station and Execution didn't totally follow through and I felt like there should have been more when they ended, and Stumble was animation set to music. I wasn't quite sure what to make of electric multi-dandelion blooms growing out of neverending and always-rising-upward double helixes. Weird, but not captivating. Pontiac was, I think, the least impressive. It was a guy talking about his old car and all the things he did with his old car, but in a nostalgic, flowery way. Boring.

Therefore, the best of the bunch were Mall Man, Rumpy, Commentary: ON, and Hogtown Blues.

Mall Man was a droll piece about a mall security guard who needs to make a decision about his relationship. Amusing situations and intersecting lives.

Rumpy was a story of a 6-year-old boy and his guardian, the unseen Rumpy. Rumpy causes harm to those that threaten Josh. Is it just an imaginary friend? Does Josh have a split personality? Is his mom having delusions? Is there a poltergeist playing around? This one was really good for a chill on a chilly evening.

Commentary: ON was the tops on my list for being just so damn clever. Sam spends 9 minutes talking about his past relationship with Daisy, who since has became famous. He talks to the camera, he talks to bystanders, and yes, he talks to himself. But besides all the wallbreaking, I especially enjoyed the format. Director Rob Lindsay employed a very nice device: he set the film up like a DVD wherein the viewer accesses different features like subtitles, storyboards, etc. It worked for me.

Last was Hogtown Blues. This was the longest and the saddest, even compared to Execution. A Russian immigrant woman has a sick boy, but her father has shunned her. All the boy wants before he passes is to see his grandpa again, but there are unresolved issues and not a lot of time to overcome them. Despite the title, this short has no blues music in it whatsoever.

Tags: Edmonton International Film Festival, EIFF, EIFF 2004, short films

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