Don’t Do It Short Film Review

★★★★

Directed by: #JaimeFidalgo

Starring: #JuanCarlosParra

Short Film Review by: Alexandra James

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Don’t Do It is a short film based on the poem by Charles Bukowski, ‘So, you want to be a writer?’ The poem highlights the passion and admiration one must have to become a successful and aspiring writer. To write for yourself and not for others, to only become a writer if you have a burning desire. If you do not have this absolute passion and just want the fame and riches or if you feel uninspired by your own words, then just ‘don’t do it.’ The poem is direct and does not beat around the bush, Charles Bukowski is to the point in his writing but also shows the importance of having this amount of adoration for your own work, otherwise there is no point to it. Jaime Fidalgo takes this poem and puts his own interpretation and creative flare to Bukowski’s words.

Jaime has focused particularly on the lines ‘if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently. If it never does roar out of you, do something else.’ With this he has taken the word ‘roar’ and suggests that we all have a dinosaur inside of us which is childlike and ready to burst out allowing us to become our authentic selves. There is no dialogue throughout this short, just upbeat music in the background and the words of the poem spoken over the top. The notable line within the poem, ‘Don’t do it,’ echo throughout the entirety of the film. I think that it would be best to read the poem before watching the film as the context becomes much clearer. However, it was quite a positive short film in a way. A man who seems to be pressed by his publisher to have his work ready, but he chooses to ignore this pressure and decides to escape these restraints by dancing through the streets in a dinosaur costume…. odd but it really works!

This short was filmed in the city of Toledo, Spain and it looks truly magnificent. Jaime used some fantastic shots and reveals the vastness of the medieval city as well as exposing the cobbled streets and small, hidden alleyways which look so quaint. There was some great editing here and beautifully executed shots, the cinematography really cannot be faulted. The location was brilliantly scouted and helped to feed into this idea of freedom especially the end shot, away from the city and overlooking the small homes as the sun goes down. There was that element of escapism to this short film and freeing yourself from our inner thoughts which prohibit many of us from being and doing what we really want.

This film made me want to invest in my own dinosaur costume and run through the streets, although I think I may receive a few strange looks from some of my neighbours! Still, this was a great snippet into what it looks like when you let your inner child out and stop yourself from trying to control every little decision you make, this was a very positive message.