We continue our coverage of Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival with three more dynamic and diverse short film reviews!
Paradise Falls
Director: Fantavious Fritz
Actors: Daiva Zalnieriunas, Uri Livne-Bar, Alistair Ball, Alex Crowther
Rating: 14A
Runtime: 17 min
Paradise Falls, a quirky tale of two young boys living in a cursed mansion with the sweet ghost who inhabits it, is unlike anything one would expect. Director Fantavious Fritz presents a grand vision and a Wes Anderson style of humour to create a film all at once amusing, endearing, and not a little bit creepy. This is a story with a message; unfortunately, the scope of the work does feel a little too large for such a short piece, as much potentially fascinating material is left unexplored and unexplained.
Instead of dialogue, a voice-over narration is paired with varying styles of music to effectively set a whimsical tone. Shots from the perspectives of the young protagonists place an audience in their positions, although we unfortunately do not get to know them particularly well in the film’s brief seventeen-minute runtime. This short is both highly ambitious and quite well made, and one cannot help but wonder what Fritz could create with an entire feature film. Hopefully, we will be given the opportunity to find out.
Rating: 7/10
Nous Avions
Director: Stéphane Moukarzel
Actors: Liridon Rashiti, Minoo Gundevia, Deena Aziz
Rating: 14A
Runtime: 18 min
Generational divide and clashing cultures are at the head of director Stéphane Moukarzel’s short film Nous Avions. Every Sunday, an Pakistani immigrant family watches the planes land at a Montreal airport. This week, as the father reads words of wisdom to his family from Khalil Gibran’s poetic work The Prophet, the eldest son wishes he were anywhere else. Gentle and poignant, this film effectively relays its message of the importance of family and tradition while delivering a relevant and relatable story.
Quiet yet strong acting is a feature of this film, and much is conveyed by the individuals through simple looks and nuances. The family dynamic portrayed by the ensemble cast appears authentic, and each character is unique and engaging. In addition to watching the family drama unfold, an audience is also educated as they are treated to Gibran’s inspirational text. There is beauty at the heart of this film, and the story is as moving as it is captivating.
Rating: 8/10
In Guns We Trust
Director: Nicolas Lévesque
Rating: 14A
Runtime: 12 min
Documentaries have the potential to be as unsettling as they are informative, and In Guns We Trust embodies just that idea. An audience is introduced to Kenneswa, an American town where residents are legally required to own a gun. This short doc uses a simple and straightforward style to open the eyes of the viewer to this shocking reality without revealing the biases of filmmaker Nicolas Lévesque, allowing them to draw their own judgements and to come to their own conclusions.
Lévesque predominantly uses stark and arresting black and white photographs, along with brief snippets of film and voice-over interviews, to present the facts within his piece. The effect is often quite disconcerting, as the voice and image of a young female is paired with the praise of firearms. However, both the pros and cons of owning a gun are presented, and the unbiased quality seen is rare in documentary filmmaking these days. Although the approach is sparse, it is all that is required to tell this story, and this unique film is all the more effective for its restraint.
Rating: 7/10
