2007 SUNDANCE ONLINE SHORT! Olds’ “Bomb” examines a relationship that’s much better off facing a land that once felt the impact of war, a land where innocence is seemingly flourishing, instead of facing the real world where human relationships tarnish such possibilities for happiness.
The young man and his friend Carlie lie around an old bombing range and discuss stories from their past, and reflect on the void bombs that sprinkle the fields, but once they return to the real world, they’re suddenly given a glimpse into their future. His family is utterly dysfunctional, and his mother is incapable of any sort of social interaction, and this acts as a vague reflection on Carlie’s potential relationship with him, and how their bond could result.
Olds’ tale of a blossoming bond and the pure inevitability of disaster create a pure sense of sadness and doom within “Bomb” and ensures a rather desolate future for two kids growing up in the war zone that is their lives, a world that immediately destroys any hope of happiness, without choice in their ultimate fate.
