Taking place inside an old fashioned hotel, a handful of various eccentric characters reside within its walls. Sharing this space is the manager/mouse hunter, a Jesus junky, a reclusive and cranky old artist, and a bait salesman (among others). This collection of sorted individuals mostly sticks to themselves, interacting with others only when conflict arises. When a baby mysteriously shows up in the hallway, one resident decides that they should each rotate giving the child the attention an infant deserves. Could a group this radically different and socially challenged come together to care for the child? That’s the question being asked in Joseph Taglieri’s magnificently shot and equally touching short, “The Calm.”
The baby (played by director Taglieri’s own son, Roman) steals the show with authentically funny and – dare I say – cute moments captured as if they were real as opposed to being staged. “The Calm” shows us just that no matter how different we are, given the right situation, we can come together for anything. It’s an interesting statement to make during these current conflicting times. This infant brings the best out of these people. Too bad it isn’t this easy for us to come together in real life.
