The sounds of a large Latin city are more prominent to those selling their wares, hoping for more change in their pocket than what they already have. It’s not entirely certain who Rosa (Jessica Contreras) sells roses for, but it’s certain that she doesn’t care anyway. It’s the only way she can try to find her father, who drove off in her truck one day, with a truckbed full of roses, after saying goodbye to her and her mother (Lilly Bernal Pino).
She wonders if he could possibly be somewhere in this city. Maybe he’d even see her with her roses. William Sten Olsson, who wrote and directed this short film, makes this small girl even bigger in our eyes. It’s admirable that she takes on this enormous emotional mission, but in a city this big, is there that much hope for only this young girl? Cinematographer Vachan Sharma seemingly works in lockstep with Olsson in making Rosa’s search teem with faded colors. Even the roses are dark and wilting, but it shows that there’s only so much that can survive in this city. Jessica Contreras is the other crucial element, as her eyes search the people who reluctantly buy her roses. Have they seen her father? Any information at all?
Even in just thinking of what Olsson and his equally dedicated cast and crew have made, there’s a rare power at work here. It never lets go and the ending, flawlessly woven into everything that came before, is a touching final note. This is the kind of short film wished for by anyone who watches short films extensively and even those who don’t.
