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 "But
the chief and worse pain may not be in bodily suffering,
but in one knowing for certain that in an hour, then ten
minutes, then half a minute, and then now, at that very
moment, the soul will leave the body and that one will
cease to be a man. And that's bound to happen. The worse
part of it is that it's certain."
-Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Idiot"
For
centuries, mankind has struggled with questions of crime
and punishment. What is the most appropriate punishment
to fit the crime, and how should it be meted out? Should
revenge be factored into the equation, or must the sentence
be cold and detached? And, of course, which course of
action is more humane, or do certain criminals not deserve
even that much consideration?
There
are perhaps few hot-button issues today more volatile
than the death penalty -- probably because of the fact
that it is marked by such finality. Movies such as Dead
Man Walking, Monster's Ball, The Life of David Gale,
and True Crime have examined this issue. Sometimes
with a clear message, sometimes with a less easy conclusion
-- because no one can be absolutely certain about life
and death.
This
short film tells a story in pictures, while an excerpt
from the first chapter of Fyodor Dostoevsky's book "The
Idiot" plays over as narration. The images, however,
are not what one might expect from the topic discussed
in the narration. It shows a young man going to a pet
store, buying two mice, and then taking them home to feed
to his pet snake. At first, this may not appear to have
anything to do with the theme of the film, but it soon
becomes clear that, in some allegorical sense, this young
man is thinking through all these issues that Dostoevsky
wrote about. He begins to consider the rat's condition;
how it must feel to stare death in the face, and then
how it must feel to be pardoned.
Content
The editing for this film was very good - there were some
great juxtapositions of images that matched very well
with the narration. There are also some great visual juxtapositions
in the filml. For instance, when the main character buys
the mice at the pet store, they are put into boxes that
bear the logo, "I'm going home!" A rather ironic
twist of fate, considering what's waiting for them when
they get "home."
My
only issue was with the voice acting. With such a deep
subject as that discussed in this film, it's important
that the narration match the feeling. Sometimes it did,
but occasionally I found myself pulled out of the emotion
of the movie and thinking about the voice inflection of
the narrator. In a film that depends so heavily on narration,
it's vital that that narration enhance the film and not
detract from it. It may be beneficial to find professional
radio or voice talent to do the voice-over - someone who
is used to speaking and reading dialogue may give a much
smoother read. Of course, that will cost a lot more money,
but in the long run it may be worth it if it helps your
final product.
Visual
Look
The
visual look on this film was amazing. First, it was shot
in black and white -- the trademark of art house type
movies. But this look helped enhance the simplicity of
the film. Especially considering the subject matter, color
would have been far too overwhelming. Also, the footage
was 'damaged' to give it a grainy look, and a classic
black vignette that also gave it the feel of an old film.
Once again, this serves to enhance the feel of the film
-- it is an interesting look that gets the audience to
pay attention. The camerawork was mostly handheld -- this
matched well with the grainy quality of the film.
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