In the future, a network of human trafficking has grown between criminal families. In this network, one of the most important elements is a transporter, someone who can get the victims to remote clients the world over. Only this isn’t a case of just having someone drive a van around, and a transporter is an important, and rare, commodity. Criminal families that have in-house transporters have a leg up on the competition, though the creation of such a specialist takes a lot of time and is fraught with danger (and is, thus, fairly unsuccessful).
“Mother” (Petronia Paley), however, has been grooming her son Darien (Ibn Dixon) for the job, and he seems to be coming along nicely. When a woman (Nelcie Souffrant) he knows becomes the latest to be trafficked, Darien finds himself torn between doing his duty for his family, or saving the woman. Along the way, he’ll find out if he truly is a transporter, or just another failed criminal experiment.
Damon Colquhoun’s Transporter is one of those short films where I think I know what’s going on, but given more time to think about it, that certainty falls away and questions arise. While I can see what value a transporter of the type Mother is trying to create can be, I don’t quite understand why the film ends the way it does. Without giving too much away, considering the potential value of a transporter, certain plot developments don’t quite make sense.
So, yeah, a bit lost with this one. I like that it sets up its own world, but I don’t have a firm grasp of what was going on beyond the synopsis I wrote above, and most of that synopsis can be learned from the opening text cards. Still, the film has a really nice look to it, and the few moments of effects-work truly stand out as exceptional.
So, frankly, I don’t know. I found the film aesthetically pleasing and visually strong, with a confident filmmaking voice overall, but I also left the film confused, and repeat viewings didn’t make it much better. Still, it is a well-made piece of work, and deserves points for the skill and talent involved. I just wish I understood it more.
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