Reviewed by Tanner Smith
The Tricycle
Smith’s Verdict: ****
I’ve seen some of Arkansas writer-director David Bogard’s work before; I particularly liked last year’s LRFF selection, A Matter of Honor. I think “The Tricycle” is his best work. It’s a marvelous 6-minute short film that successfully mixes the harsh realism of a quarreling couple with the innocence of a child’s fantasy.
It begins in the home of a 6-year-old girl, named Ava (played by Ava St. Ana), who is drawing some pictures and trying to stay happy while her parents (Quinn Gasaway and Caroline Brooks) are in the midst of an unpleasant argument. This scene is written, shot, and portrayed perfectly. It’s also kind of hard to watch; that’s a credit to the realism the scene creates. What’s more heartbreaking is that when the girl tries to show her father what she drew, he ignores her, causing her to go outside. That was just painful.
After the toughest of family-drama scenarios, the film gives Ava a much-needed escape, as she passes a neighbor’s house and notices an old tricycle left out in front. The tricycle seems to have a mind of its own and it follows the girl along the sidewalk. There’s a truly magical (forgive the pun) faraway shot that shows the girl and the tricycle reluctantly trying to unite together. That shot is as charming as the food-luring scene from “The Black Stallion.” I never thought I would see a tricycle as a living, delightful creature, but that’s the effect the film had on me.
Is the tricycle really magic or just part of the girl’s imagination? The film ends with a certain possibility that it hardly matters whether or not it’s real, but rather, it’s a diversion from the cruel reality she knows too well and into a wonderful place she can always turn to briefly until things get better. That’s generally what kids do—when things in life get so rough, they create in their minds their own worlds to escape into, where things can be better and more fun. That’s what Ava is trying to do. And of course, kids have to come back and still deal with real-life issues, but for the moment, those issues don’t exist. Bogard understands this, and he has created a great short film that I will not forget anytime soon.
What Was Lost
Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2
Sometimes it takes a really good actor or a really good script (or of course, both) to make what could be an overwrought melodrama something special. And while the script and direction by Romello Williams are sound and successful, what really makes his 25-minute JBU-produced drama, titled “What Was Lost,” stand out is the performance from his main actor, Tres Wilson. I’ve seen Wilson’s work in UCA films such as Thien Ngo’s “The Paperboy” (which I’ll get to later), Adam Crain’s “Henchmen,” and Brock Isbell’s “Whiz Quiz”—he’s a good comic actor, playing with a sincere, straight face during some bizarre settings. In “What Was Lost,” however, he truly shows his range in a remarkable performance as Wayne, a young father who loses everything he holds dear and tries to find a way to move on. Also good is Anthony Waits as his friend, James, who comes to town to be there for him and delivers just what the film needs: comic relief. Will Wayne let James help him? It’s not an easy question to answer, especially for Wayne, who has a lost a lot. And the film doesn’t shy away from his plight. What makes the latter half of “What Was Lost” all the more heartbreaking is the sheer realism that is felt within the former half, which effectively shows Wayne interacting and playing with his young son. Not once do I see Tres Wilson and a little actor playing father and son; I see a father and his son. It’s because I felt so much for these two that I didn’t want to see anything bad happen to either of them. And when something does, I feel bad for Wayne, and that’s how I know the film is working. When film was over, I actually turned to the person next to me, and whispered, “Damn.”
Overgrown
Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2
Bruce Hutchinson’s 3-minute short “Overgrown” is less of a narrative short and more of a visual poem. With the aid of an omnipresent narrator, giving what can be best described as a short story, we’re introduced to a young woman, described as “an otherworldly being named Bindy” (played by Kristy Hutchinson), whose practical home is the woods and who apparently lives off mankind’s hopes and dreams and collecting the ones that are unfulfilled. “Overgrown” could be seen as visual storytelling, except that it’s not just the visuals telling the story. Maybe with the narration, there’s a little more clarity than the film needed to succeed, but the descriptive idea of a manifestation of dreams and wishes is a fascinating one and that angle probably wouldn’t gotten across completely without it. The film is also nice to look at, with the right locations and a top-notch cinematographer (Chris Churchill, who also shot Hutchinson’s previous film, Sidearoadia) to bring it to life.
Pyro
Smith’s Verdict: ***
I said in one of the reviews above that one of the important steps to recovery is to take grace where it can be found. It can be found in your friends, your family, your hobbies, your work, whatever. For kids, especially teenagers, it’s even more difficult. They search for ways to express themselves and some of those ways can rub people the wrong way, especially when they develop certain habits that can get them hurt. Take Graham, the 17-year-old pyromaniac of Cole Borgstadt’s 10-minute short, “Pyro,” for example. After his parents’ death, there’s nothing he likes better than to light random matches and drop them in the sink, set off fireworks, and enflame whatever he can find. (A line of dialogue indicates he and his late father used to do stuff like that together—or at least, shoot off fireworks together.) That’s his way of expressing himself. He thinks it’s all he has and he doesn’t care for anything else. He’s also trying his older brother’s patience. His brother is more responsible and having to care for both himself and his brother who will most likely set the house on fire, accidentally or not. He’s also trying to lead his own life as not just a surrogate parent. The film opens with his announcement to his brother that he will propose to his girlfriend…with their late mother’s engagement ring. “You’re already taking Dad’s place. You have to take Mom’s ring too?” Graham asks in a scene that is perhaps composed of forced exposition but what can you do in a 10-minute drama? (And at least the characters are addressing what’s bugging them to each other.) The film ends with a selfish, primitive act, which surprisingly doesn’t result in a shouting match but a surprising (refreshingly) calm discussion between the two brothers about the way things are, who they are, who they thought they were, and some probabilities for the future, before ending on an ambiguous note, as well as on a haunting image (haunting because of the character and the symbol). It’s a powerful moment that subtly states that things just happen, people change for better or worse, and it’s important to attempt to accept what you can get and know how to properly use it. As a whole, “Pyro” is a good short film, but that ending is great. The film is very well-crafted with clear direction from Borgstadt, decent acting from Ross Thompson and Zach Stoltz as the brothers, and good cinematography from Emily Field.
Oh, and someone anonymous told me to mention the writer-director Cole Borgstadt was a student at Fayetteville High School when he made this film. I responded to the seemingly condescending comment by saying, “Yes, because apparently, high-school students aren’t capable of making good films, right?” That quickly shut him up.
The Space Station
Smith’s Verdict: **
Michael Sutterfield’s half-hour sci-fi film “The Space Station” is about a young woman (Amber Erdley) living a somewhat-empty life in the city and seeking excitement elsewhere. And boy, does she find it. After she meets an older man (Stephen Perry) who claims to be an astronaut, he invites her to his “home away from home”: a space station. She says yes, he sedates her, and she awakens in a room where Earth is seen in plain sight outside her window. She and the astronaut are now in outer space and he shows her the pleasures she wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t met him.
This is yet another short film for which I cannot give a proper full review without going into the resolution. It’s also the one LRFF2015 Made In Arkansas short I was least looking forward to reviewing. Because I can’t recommend the film, I shouldn’t care how much I could reveal even with an attached link to the film online. But I still like to think I have at least some critiquing principles, so I’m going to tread lightly while writing about this one. The first 10 minutes of the film are interesting, the next 10 (or less) minutes are intriguing, and the final 10 minutes made me care less and less after a twist is revealed. As soon as that twist came along, I lost hope for the film. I feel like it tried to redeem itself by the end with a message about appreciating what you have and where you are rather than what you don’t have and where you aren’t. There’s a reason I couldn’t accept that message, but to talk about it would be to give away the twist. That’s why I wasn’t looking forward to writing this review.
That’s enough I’ll say about that. It’s a real shame too, because I was really getting into this story. Curious, bewildered Amber Erdley and calm, confident, suave Stephen Perry play their roles well; writer-director Michael Sutterfield establishes situations and characters well; the visual effects are great to look at; the editing is well-done; and Gabe Mayhan’s cinematography is stunning. A lot of effort was put into this short film (apparently, it took five years to complete) and I hate to give a negative review to a film with such a good setup. But once that twist came along, it became tough for me to recommend. And again, that’s all I’ll say about it.
NOTE: I heard this was based on a short story by Bernard Reed. Perhaps the twist translates better on paper and doesn’t work well in this film, but I’m not reviewing the original story the film is based on.
Smith's Verdict 
Leave a Reply