Length: 02:17
Logline: A stranger falls asleep up against a flummoxed guy on the train.
It's hard to categorise this one. It's a bit of drama and a bit of romance, but mostly it's designed to simply be a sweet tale and probably nothing more. Of course that all depends on your personal outlook. Some viewers may go "awwww", others will possibly go "eughhh" as in this modern age, the unnamed protagonist, played by Rodney Ndongo-Eyogo, could also be described as being creepy in a stalkerish kind of way. Unfortunately the film ends on this character's decision to go back into the train (as he clearly has nothing better to do) and be the pillow to the immediately comatosed Catherine Dauphin, so we don't get to see her embarrassed reaction on waking up against a complete stranger, which naturally would be the more interesting scenario.
It feels almost like we're watching candid camera here and that style of shooting adds some depth to the scenario. The film is shot so as to make you feel like you're one of the passengers on the train, and that this familiar scene is something we've likely been in or seen happen before. What adds to that feeling and works well with it, is the lack of soundtrack and lack of dialogue. The filmmaker allows the rhythmic sound of the train and the underground hum to create that sleep inducing atmosphere that all commuters are familiar with and the acting is all in the eyes of the characters here, whether it be avoiding glance out of the window or the acknowledgement from another traveller. The camerawork follows a similar pattern. You can see and feel the hypnotic movement of the train and the edit mimics the look around, blinking eyes of a fellow passenger. These small elements go a long way towards generating a well constructed piece of work but the questionable premise lets it down slightly as does Dauphin's inability to wake up when being prodded.
It's hard to categorise this one. It's a bit of drama and a bit of romance, but mostly it's designed to simply be a sweet tale and probably nothing more. Of course that all depends on your personal outlook. Some viewers may go "awwww", others will possibly go "eughhh" as in this modern age, the unnamed protagonist, played by Rodney Ndongo-Eyogo, could also be described as being creepy in a stalkerish kind of way. Unfortunately the film ends on this character's decision to go back into the train (as he clearly has nothing better to do) and be the pillow to the immediately comatosed Catherine Dauphin, so we don't get to see her embarrassed reaction on waking up against a complete stranger, which naturally would be the more interesting scenario.
It feels almost like we're watching candid camera here and that style of shooting adds some depth to the scenario. The film is shot so as to make you feel like you're one of the passengers on the train, and that this familiar scene is something we've likely been in or seen happen before. What adds to that feeling and works well with it, is the lack of soundtrack and lack of dialogue. The filmmaker allows the rhythmic sound of the train and the underground hum to create that sleep inducing atmosphere that all commuters are familiar with and the acting is all in the eyes of the characters here, whether it be avoiding glance out of the window or the acknowledgement from another traveller. The camerawork follows a similar pattern. You can see and feel the hypnotic movement of the train and the edit mimics the look around, blinking eyes of a fellow passenger. These small elements go a long way towards generating a well constructed piece of work but the questionable premise lets it down slightly as does Dauphin's inability to wake up when being prodded.
Best Bit: Nice decisions of restraint used in this minimalist story.
Worst Bit: Story had potential but didn't go anywhere.
Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.
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