After a tragedy claims the life of Zoe (Christine Dennis), best friend Maya (Christine Rapsys) struggles to cope with the loss. Reflecting back on her friendship, Maya tries to piece her life back together.
Writer, director and stars Dennis and Rapsys deliver a study in grief in their short film, Wind Song. More than a traditional narrative, the film succeeds in presenting grief in the waves in which it washes over a person. While there’s certainly the potential for external drama, it’s often instead an internal experience that can cover any manner of directions or times with little rhyme or reason.
And I think this film captures that. Not quite random, the film allows for the reality of grief to be a character in a natural way. There may be stages to the grieving process, but the film doesn’t work in as rigid a structure. It’s more poetic in execution.
But it’s also, for a short film, a particularly lengthy study on grief and healing. While even that can be appropriate (how do you put a timetable on grief), it doesn’t mean the piece remains engaging for that long easily. I think this film can strain short attention spans, but it does help itself out by not putting all its cards out on the table initially.
As Maya’s memories play out, that’s how we learn what ultimately happened to Zoe, but also see that Maya is experiencing more than just memories. This hint of a mystery for the audience helps the film remain interesting when the temptation to tune out becomes stronger. Still, does this need to be as long as it is? I don’t know that its length does it any favors, no.
Overall, I did enjoy Wind Song, and didn’t mind its indulgences too much. I do think it could benefit from a shorter cut, something closer to ten minutes. Going such a route might require an even more experimental take on the tale, but one that could be equally, if not more so, poetic and powerful.
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