Much closer to the Christopher Doyle territory, this short film by the one of Australia's most celebrated filmmaker Cate Shortland has been totally overshadowed by her features for good reason. Don't assume that this is bad, it is by no means a waste of time checking out. I have completed her filmography starting from late nineties shorts to Berlin Syndrome (2017). I skipped Black Widow (deliberately) as I've never been a fan of Marvel or Dc whatever.
So this 16mm short film showed an interesting side of Shortland doing her best to capture the mood of late 90s focussing on three young Japanese sharing an apartment at Bondi Beach in Sydney. She combines the aesthetic of the late 90s to form a visually striking montage on the complexity and alienation of navigating a cross-cultural existence, voyeurism and unrequited love. The surfer dude parts with the camcorder was interesting, even the butcher shop motifs, the dream sequence are some of the best moments in the film. The only downside is the film attempts to be atmospheric and generic at times. It succeeds to a certain degree but this short has one of those problems that most Wong Kar-wai's tributes seem to have.
Nevertheless, Shortland fans might get something out of this and it is worth your time and attention.
So this 16mm short film showed an interesting side of Shortland doing her best to capture the mood of late 90s focussing on three young Japanese sharing an apartment at Bondi Beach in Sydney. She combines the aesthetic of the late 90s to form a visually striking montage on the complexity and alienation of navigating a cross-cultural existence, voyeurism and unrequited love. The surfer dude parts with the camcorder was interesting, even the butcher shop motifs, the dream sequence are some of the best moments in the film. The only downside is the film attempts to be atmospheric and generic at times. It succeeds to a certain degree but this short has one of those problems that most Wong Kar-wai's tributes seem to have.
Nevertheless, Shortland fans might get something out of this and it is worth your time and attention.
