Assistance | Short Film of the Day

Spotlight May 15, 2020

Assistance

By John Doherty with 6.8

dark comedy · Short Films · english

The dilemma of two brothers regarding a crucial decision about the life of a third family member comes to form the body of the short film. Their father, who battles a chronic illness, is reduced to a vegetative state in an expensive facility. As the brothers struggle with the financial and emotional implications of the situation, they decide to take matters in their own hands, and thus euthanasia enters the plot. Soon follow a series of most unexpected events, finally culminating into a shocking conclusion.

The short film is a sincere effort to tell its story and employs notable camerawork, comedic moments and a zesty background score to enhance itself. The execution is marked with ease, albeit a few slips, allowing it all to come together in the form of a complete narrative.

Assistance further raises a philosophical question about what it means to be alive - is it simply the absence of death? Along with this, it also offers an engagement with ideas of guilt as well as familial duties and what they truly come to mean for the two brothers.
Read Less