3 Short films - Gift

Short Film Review - Gift 

With this short film 'Gift' Dir. Daniel Yam, I enjoyed the simplicity of it, and it's manipulation of perception, playing with the audiences conception of the film. 

Synopsis - 'This Boy Never Saw His Dad As An Inspiration. Until He Found Out His Big Secret
A son confronts the resentment towards his father only to realise his true intentions.'
Throughout the film, it's stylistic value isn't as packed as the other two I have chosen but that is down to this films context and narrative, it is the relationship within the short film that I have taken influence from, and not necessarily the visual aspect of it. I appreciated how we saw the growth of the characters and the complete change of the narrative in the end. 

We as the audience are made to feel empathy towards the young child, and see it through the eyes of the boy and feel as if he has been neglected throughout his upbringing. Clearly this isn't true as the big twist in the narrative at the end is that the dad has been so selfless with his life helping many others but himself, creating a sense of regret in us the audience and the boy who is now a man. 

Since my short film/script is about the relationship of 2 girls, and how it develops, I've been interested in how other short films have spun this concept and let it grow through conflict and change. This film obviously has a completely different narrative path however it still plays with the same notion. 

It did have an influence on my work in terms of playing with the perception of the audience and manipulating them into believing where my story is going to end up. I liked that idea of a complete change of emotions, and where our loyalties lie within a film, as these short films usually are the more evoking ones that make us question, think and are poignant. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DUYlHZsZfc&t=3s
(Gift - Short film. Dir. Daniel Yam)

Overall my view of the film wasn't fantastic, I felt it lacked certain visual aspects and came across a bit poor. However it was the narrative and its message that really made this short film.