Spectacularly shot, this striking period piece follows a WWI soldier through the trenches of the war and through the equally traumatizing battles of love. Rafe, a handsome ‘20s bachelor skillfully played by Bjorn Whitney, suffers a controversial injury that takes him from army fatigues to tuxedos and martinis. He (figuratively) spills his guts to an equally handsome bartender—they don’t hook up, even though it really felt like they were going to—and recalls the trials of falling in love for the last time, and the time after that.
Up to this point, Rafe’s life has been filled with beautiful women just waiting to drop their luxurious green gowns and pose seductively in front of open penthouse windows. From pretty nurses to flapper girls named Ginger, his luck with women is downright impressive. But when the girls line up to tell him their feelings of disrespect and betrayal, the young playboy begins a dark and radical journey of self-discovery and change. Just kidding. He leaves the bar with a gorgeous dame and gets some of that penthouse window action I mentioned earlier.
Love and War makes an amazing use out of its budget. Its crisp cinematography is complimented by impressive sets and detailed costumes. Neal Castelo’s score is fantastic—capturing the period without hamming it up, playing to stereotypes, or sounding cheap. Overall, the film is a compact project with content to match the dynamic style. Director L. Gabriel Gonda and Executive Producer Aron Michael Thompson clearly subscribe to notion that low budget doesn’t mean low quality. Their film looks and sounds great. It’s adventurous and fun and while sections of the dialogue needed a rewrite or three, the hard work and dedication towards making a solid short film that’s worth multiple viewings is apparent and appreciated.
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