Review – Made in SA
Pablo’s Villa (2/5)
This short examines the eerie ruins of a tourist town in Argentina that was submerged for 25 years. By far the most intriguing part of the town is its only inhabitant, Pablo Novak. Unfortunately every time this colourful character attempts to take the audience on a journey of his joys and regrets as an old man, the camera returns to piles of light grey bricks and haunting music. You almost fall in love with a face that encapsulates the thousands of inhabitants that are no longer there. If only director Matthew Salleh had realised that the film should have been about Pablo and not his Villa…
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/60138042 w=300]
Pale Blue Dot (3.5/5)
Aaron Schuppan perfects the art of condensing a story into a short space by letting the viewer fill in the blanks. He refrains from explaining the science behind the world he creates and instead focuses on the chemistry between his two characters. And boy, do Mandahla Rose and Nic English have onset chemistry! The costumes are well designed and the cinematography and scenery beautiful, but what lets this film down is the acting. Perhaps one of the reasons Schuppan lets you make up your own mind, and included a record number of sex scenes, is to distract you from the overly emotive dialogue. Still, an enchanting short.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/72323304 w=300]
Sleight Of Hand (4.5/5)
In its exploration of the journey of a stop-motion character this short film gives the viewer an insight into the world of stop-motion like never seen before. As someone that isn’t really a stop-motion fan I initially hoped the film would live up to its name of being short, but by the end of it I was wrapped up in the strange man-made world of the character and truly devastated that it had to come to an end. It is hard not to walk away from this film in awe of stop-motion and home-grown SA talent in the field.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxUv1gVg1uk&w=300]
The Martyr (3.5/5)
This short depicts the horrific torture of a government soldier by a Syrian rebel. For authenticity’s sake the film is shot in Arabic and subtitled, but due to the disturbing nature of the material it is hard to keep up with the dialogue as you are too busy diverting your eyes and holding various body parts out of sympathetic pain. However, it is a story that must be told and you walk away from it with the distinct feeling that in Syria it is not a case of ‘baddies’ vs. ‘baddies’ (as we like to call them in Australia), but rather ‘goodies’ vs. ‘goodies’, or, perhaps, something in between. A daring film, at least the half of it I saw.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/55587083 w=300]
Welcome to Iron Knob (5/5)
I imagine this is what the script of a short film about a small town would be like if an Australian Douglas Adams were to write it! There are no aliens (that I can remember), but the story line is bizarre, the characters endlessly enduring and the laughs from the audience are plentiful. It is reminiscent of Australian classics like The Castle and He Died With A Felafel In His Hand – only crammed into 20 minutes of perfection. A must see.
Who Owns the Streets? (3/5)
How you feel about this short will be heavily influenced by what your views are on the various Adelaide street art subcultures. It attempts to authentically explore the question around public space in the city and visual artists’ right to expression on their own terms. If you buy this authenticity you will probably think it is enlightening, but I found the narration a little too polished. It is not a bad film, it just isn’t a great one.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOaaD-BR9bs&w=300]
