A painter finds himself overwhelmed by his memories and the past, which eventually begin to block his creative energies as well. It is primarily a conversation with these obstacles that come to form the main body of the film. Marked by its calm visuals, that effortlessly, and perhaps even consciously, steer clear of gaudiness and ostentation, the film thus becomes a quiet portrayal of a man's interactions with his grief over a seemingly recent loss. The film attempts several things - a delineation of an artist's process of creating something, the manner in which his past experiences tie up with it, the failure to let them find a voice on his canvas and the eternal battle to conquer them, both despite and because of personal tragedy. Pentimento, essentially aiming to convey the change an artist might make in the process of painting, achieves all of this through its seamless and elegant camerawork, further enhanced by sophisticated and convincing performances. All of these elements are finally tied together by poignant storytelling, allowing the film to be a wonderfully wholesome product.

Pentimento | Short Film of the Day

The film is an engagement with a set of very strange events, meant to horrify and shock you. A woman called Jess is painting by herself atop a ridge when an unknown object falls from the sky. On closer examination, she finds it to be a suitcase which she chooses to bring back with her. 

 Through a conversation between Jess and her romantic partner, the proceedings so far are explained to the viewer. However, along with getting you on the same page as the protagonist, this conversation fulfils another purpose - it introduces you to the calmness and the nonchalance with which Jess is approaching the situation so far. It would help to provide a stark contrast against the events that are about to unfold. Soon after, several images and developments are presented to you in swift succession, taking you from one bizarre and jarring situation to another. 

 As the viewer is left figuring out whether Jess has been transferred to a parallel reality, or is simply having a nightmare, trapped inside a powerful hallucination, perhaps induced by the capabilities of whatever being lay inside the case, or whether it's neither, but a whole new dimension to which she has been transported, the narrative concludes, deliberately leaving you with more questions than answers. The film comes across as a dedicated endeavor, but would have benefited from a little from more control on its lights and shadows. There is presence, however, of an interesting approach which keeps the viewer curious about the direction of the story until its very conclusion.

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