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Written and Directed by Joshua Eley
Starring Stuart Kennington, Aron Trausti, Teddy Robson
Short Film Review by Hannah Sayer
Albion is an interesting short film which takes on the challenge of tackling a well known story that has been interpreted and told many times before. However, the Arthurian legend translated onto screen in this instance is an ambitious task as it is told with a distinctively modern and science fiction twist on the medieval genre.
Opening credits inform the viewer that the world is at war and that King Uther and his country face invasion from a formidable enemy which is closing in from the west. He has sent two soldiers to the forgotten continent of Albion in search of a lost relic and the short film opens with these two soldiers, Arthur and Eric, crash landing on Albion. They stumble across a native of this world who has been following them since they landed. What follows is a new take on the legend of Arthur as they go on a journey in search of the relic and therefore in search of hope.
The result is ambitious as the production is completely shot in outside locations in the South West of England and Wales. This benefits the final film as the landscape adds to the realism of Albion as a vast expanse of desolate landscape. The ominous music used contributes to the foreboding and bleak atmosphere created by the empty landscape and builds up to the dramatic conclusion of the short film. The combination of the modern and the medieval in this short film is a fresh and interesting take on this overly familiar tale. The spaceships, capes and night vision equipment used within the film allude to its futuristic tone and juxtapose with the origins of the story.
The narrative of the short film is simplistic, which is still enjoyable if not very exciting. More could have been added to the journey to make it more dramatic throughout. The comment from the native they stumble across who says that the invasion of the land has led to Albion’s desolation when people come and ‘take what you see fit’ is an interesting plot point and points to an ambiguity of good and evil which could have been explored further.
Overall, in its brief running time Albion successfully achieves what it aimed to by taking on a familiar tale and adding its own unique twist.
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