WUIFF DEPTH REVIEW ON FILM Darkvision (Student Film)
DIRECTED BY Rico Espinoza
COUNTRY Canada
REVIEWED BY ABHIJAN BASU (Honourable Jury, INDIA)
WUIFF AUGUST SESSION 2021
When we say adventure/fantasy/sci-fi we simply expect a whole new world, remotely or directly connected to planet earth and together they remind us the basics of the universe. The short film Darkvision offers a beautiful story that deals with some fundamentals of human world. A girl ‘Amy’ with a disputed past, has travelled half of the universe to find peace is relatable to all those people who seek love as a key to settlement and to get rid of their dirty past. Destiny brings her closer to a common guy ‘Grant’ who seems to be choosy about people to get along with. Being a man forever confined within his small world Grant discovers that his seemingly common existence is part of a bigger picture. The story unveils Grant’s best friend ‘Lucy’ as the arch enemy to Amy. These turn of events puts the common guy into a situation where he has to make a choice. The end of the story leaves a remarkable effect on the audience and reminds that good intensions can bring the whole universe together irrespective of all kinds.
Amy’s struggle with the demon within was beautifully performed but could be handled a bit more subtly. Although most of the action sequences were graphically designed but the beginning and the end of those sequence were performed by the actors. Those moves required a little more precision and intensity. The demon assassin with a taste of gothic cult villain adds a cherry on cake.
The use of graphic novel effect allows the audience to get the feeling of comic books. This attempt even helps the audience to relate with the character Grant and his emotions for the comic book world.
Although the use graphic novel effect helped the makers to balance the intense sequences without training the actors to perform them yet some wide shots (WS) could be useful for better adrenaline specifically in this adventure/fantasy genre. My best wishes for the team and looking forward to see more in near future.
Abhujan Basu (Honorable Jury, India)