Canadian Film Fest 2015 Pre-Feature Shorts

Canadian Film Fest 2015 Pre-Feature Shorts

Here are my thoughts on the shorts that preceded the features at the 2015 Canadian Film Fest. Speak Now
A man and woman spend a night together in a hotel room.  Speak Now keeps the relationship between this couple somewhat ambiguous, even though flashbacks show that they have a history with each other.  It is not really until the final moments of this short that the true nature of this encounter is revealed.  Overall, it was pretty well made.
★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT Burn the Tapes
Joe is a man who records his dreams, while his wife Naomi types them out.  However, on the latest tape, Naomi finds out something she would rather forget.  Burn the Tapes is a pretty well constructed thriller that deals with repressed memories and the lengths people will go for love.  I enjoyed it.
★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT She Sings for Me
An opera-loving woman named Holly woos her shoemaker neighbour.  She Sings for Me is a pretty cute and enjoyable short.  Despite the title, this short isn’t really a musical, even though Wagnerian opera does play a big part in the plot.  Definitely a fun little romance.
★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT Job Interview
A man seems a shoe-in for his new job, until VHS tapes are found revealing his dark past.  This is an absolutely hilarious short that comments on how people’s personal lives can now affect job prospects, in the advent of social media.  Much of the humour comes from how the interviewees past is revealed through VHS tapes, as opposed to something more modern like Facebook, which gets increasingly outrageous.  I had a lot of fun watching this one.
 ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 |  REALLY LIKED IT The is Not What You Had Planned
A crosscutting between interactions between two couples.  Probably the biggest praise I have for This is Not What You Had Planned is the editing, which moves back and forth between the two couples, often trading dialogue between conversations.  By repeatedly comparing and contrasting the two scenarios, the viewer is left to decide which couple will have success and which will end in disaster.  While it’s not too surprising how these interactions ultimately turn out, it is still a quite intriguing look at the battle of the sexes.
★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT Gaybasher
A young man emerges from a violent encounter in the back alleys of the gay ghetto to become an avenging angel.  A film about a gay vigilante is an intriguing premise, however the short is too much of a tease.  The short ends right as it was getting interesting and almost came off as a proof of concept for a feature film with this character.
★ ★ ★ 1/2 | FAIR  Iris
Marshall is concerned that his girlfriend Iris, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is losing grips with reality, as she talks about a forest in her bedroom.  As someone with Asperger’s Syndrome, I might be a little biased on this film’s subject matter, however I thought that Iris was absolutely spectacular.  Even though the short does focus on the odd elements of Asperger’s, the short makes some great use of fantastical elements to visually depict the unique way people with Asperger’s see the world.  I absolutely loved this short.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |  LOVED IT