Lucas Leyva’s Reinaldo Arenas is the tale of a shark, told by a shark. As he is fished from the water and captured by an old man, we listen in as the shark tries to grasp what life outside the water is all about, as he fights to keep himself alive.
Shot in black-and-white and utilizing a very out-of-focus friendly visual style, we’re at times presented with the shark’s point of view and other times given a wider perspective as the shark is held in the arms of the old man that caught him. All the while, the shark narrates as his gills fight against the air.
I’m not afraid to say that I didn’t necessarily “get” the film, but that doesn’t mean the idea isn’t an interesting one and the visuals something to consider further. It’s one of those shorts where your own interpretation will predominantly be what makes or breaks it, and I can see someone hailing it as genius just as another calls it uninteresting. But that’s art, right?
