The film premises itself on the age-old philosophical question - if an event occurs, but there is no one to perceive it, did it take place at all? If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, did it fall at all? When the evasive and seemingly unachievable answer to this question is tied with the contemporary reality of a pandemic, that forced people into isolation with their thoughts, its significance can potentially achieve staggering proportions, as is also true for the protagonist and her lived experience in Sway. The film drops hints throughout its narrative about the direction it is headed in for the attentive viewer. The beauty of the story does not lie in confronting its core dilemma, one that arises out of loneliness, and the extent you're willing to go to fight it off, but in the realisation of its inevitability. It is precisely for this reason that the narrative does not become any less engaging or lose its impact even after it has revealed all of its cards to you. Completely shot indoors, Sway is further a noticeable piece of art to come out of a quarantined existence. As the protagonist struggles with notions of reality and illusion, compelling the audience to perhaps face the confusion and unanswered questions within, there is a coherent and cohesive plot presented forth to drive the message home in a skilled manner.

Sway | Short Film of the Day

The film puts forth a character's internal conversation with the several intricacies of his own mind as the predominant part of its body. The viewer is given a glimpse into a monologue where a fractured consciousness is allowed an interaction with the ideas of life and death, guilt and survival. This is achieved visually by juxtaposing light against shadows. The opening scene of the film is marked by blaring police sirens and lights, mapped against the voice of a man that puts the premise of the film in place. A police officer has gone missing after being close to cracking a homicidal case. It is at this juncture that the narrative further brings in ideas of sanity and insanity and conjures a probable progression of events regarding the fate of the officer. The major chunk of the drama unfolds in a warehouse of sorts and is constituted by a single character's struggle to come to terms with his thoughts and lived reality. The editing of the visuals by Kenny Unangst come to play a significant role in invoking an atmosphere of thrill, unease and disconcertment, all at the same time, as the viewer is involved deeper and deeper into the character's experiences. A student-made film of limited resources, Last Words exhibits unmissable potential of director Ace Patel to engage with complex stories, along with of the rest of the crew, all showcasing promising talent of a notable degree.

Last Words | Short Film of the Day

The film is about a woman's complete absorption in the superhero universe, leading her to aspire to possess the same superpowers as the characters she reads about in her graphic novels or watches on television. What begins as a fun hobby to indulge in with a friend soon takes the form of an obsession of humungous magnitude, setting in motion irreversible events. The narrative has vision and the intention to engage with the intricacies of the human mind. It also wants to converse with desires that might one day achieve a size that forces them out of all conceivable boundaries of rationality. However, the execution shows a want of fine-tuning. Overall, the film aspires to be an entertaining, involving and intriguing story that weaves in elements of psychology, violence, crime and a woman's attempts to stop at nothing to realise the wishes she has decided to fulfil, irrespective of the consequences.

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