Paul (Noah Perchard) shows up for his first day at a logging camp in the 1930s, and his presence is unwelcome. With the demand for paper on a steep decline, the money just isn’t there, especially not for the logging camps. Paul lands the job as a favor to his uncle, who has shown him kindness. His boss, Bennie (Stephen Oates), asks William (Lawrence Barry) to show him around, and all he gets is dirty stares from everyone…especially Floyd (Brian Marler).
Almost immediately, Floyd rides Paul harder than anyone else on the crew. In a rare quiet moment, Paul reaches into his pocket for a small pearl, and it pulls him back to a little girl from his past named Maria (Charlotte Young) and a man who looks a lot like Floyd. Floyd’s harassment won’t let up, and something about him nags at Paul. He’s sure he’s seen this man before, from a memory long ago.
“Paul lands the job as a favor from his uncle, who has shown kindness to him.”
Mike Simms’ tale of Pearls tells how traumatic events in our past shape us, both for better and for worse. It’s also a story about how life can finally give us the opportunity to confront our past in order to move on.
It’s a solid short from start to finish. Simms drops right into a moment in history when the Great Depression affected the world. At a micro-level, every introduction of a new character gives us all the context we need with very little exposition. This is the true talent of making a short film. Not a single moment of disorientation; we just know where we are in the story from the start.
Pearls is a masterpiece of short-film storytelling, and Mike Simms is in full command of his story at every level, from the narrative to the most important emotional punch at the end.
For screening information, visit the Pearls official website.
"…he's seen this man before, from a memory long ago."
