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★★★★
Directed by: Alexander Jeremy
Written by: Alexander Jeremy
Starring: James Watterson, Karenza Boscawen, Elisha Mistretta
It's the COVID-19 pandemic and a man is on a mission: he is leaving the safety of his home in order to go to the local shop and buy milk.
A gentleman is exiting his household, ready to face the dangers of the outbreak. He is wearing a face mask, gloves and is extremely cautious. He pays by phone and avoids other people, even going as far as not to accept assistance after he has fallen on the pavement. Some time later he believes that all his wariness might not be necessary, as he goes for a walk and hears children laughing and sees people walking their dogs, smiling and it is a sunny, beautiful day. He decides to remove his mask and gloves and chats to other people freely, without social distancing. Then he realizes he might have made a mistake.
This film paints a picture of the world people are living in today. A virus outbreak, social distancing, face masks, hand sanitizers and the ones who do not follow the precautions and are known as 'covidiots'.
The screenplay consists of three acts. In the first act the protagonist protects himself against the virus. Then there is a plot point that leads to the second act when he foolishly thinks that caution is unnecessary and lets his guard down. Then there is the second complication that leads to the final act when he begins to feel unwell and hears a neighbor crying over the loss of a loved one.
With the exception of a few sentences, this is a silent film and what is mostly heard is the music, which truly stands out, making this project resemble films from the silent era. The score by Harry Bolt and Hereward Cruttwell-Reade accompanies the story and situations quite effectively. It sounds comical, intense at times or tragic. The use of sound is also very creative, which was mixed and recorded by Joe Bayley.
Since there is almost no speech, the audience relies on the actor's body language and face expressions in order to understand their feelings. And the performers do a great job in achieving that.
The filmmakers utilize interesting camera techniques, including tracking shots, quick zoom in and closeups. Special mention should go to the first scene, which consists of a well-executed long take, during which the viewer follows the hero as he exits his front door, walks through the empty streets and reaches the shop.
This short film is very well made and rather interesting. It has moments of joy and tragedy. It suggests that although the world is going through very hard times, the good that was there before has not vanished. Most importantly it carries the message that the coronavirus is not to be ignored or taken lightly.
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