Have you ever wanted to hide from the world and all it represents? Think of how lovely it would be to have endless time to do whatever you choose, minus all the aggravating distractions most of us deal with on a daily basis. Perhaps that’s what heaven really is…
Or maybe not, according to filmmaker Dave Conte, whose newest short film, [escape], offers another possible meaning for “time out.”
[escape] is a psychological thriller that reaches far within the mind of a man who resides in a bunker. The man lives alone, surrounded by everything he could possibly desire: a battery operated electric shaver, music, food, objets d’art —and yes, even a goldfish to keep him company. Yet each moment that he’s alone with his thoughts, the man becomes more and more troubled, and so do we.
Conte’s film is fascinating because it accomplishes so much with so little. His narrative structure is filled with blurred flashes of ambiguities that begin to supply possible reasons why the man has withdrawn from the world. However, the closer we are to tangible evidence, and what we believe is truth, the less we are certain.
However, while [escape] is captivating and philosophically intriguing in terms of its power to lead our imaginations in every possible direction, the film’s one flaw is that its duration is a bit too long. This ever so slight drag in time, which should add to the narrative’s suspense, instead offers us our own wish to escape— from the story— and that’s a true shame.
In my opinion, [escape] is a brilliant concept, with a really magnificent surprise ending— and if approximately seven minutes of footage could be cut, the overall impact would be profound.
This film was submitted for review through our Submission for Review system. If you have a film you’d like us to see, and we aren’t already looking into it on our own, you too can utilize this service.
