Thursday, September 30, 2010

Se7enta (Seventy)

This short film begins in a humble fashion. A few seconds pass before you realize that the man sitting before his birthday cake topped with two large pink candles (70) is alone and about to start eating. A boom box and a cake. An audio recording plays. Family members wish him birthday greetings. They offer positive words. Do they know he’s lonely? They promise next year things will be different. Are they worried about him? His daughter will try to raise the money to make the trip to see him. Melancholy visualized.

You never see his eyes, only the bottom half of his face. You watch him eat. He chews fast. His face reddens. He drops his fork. Hands move to his own neck. Is he choking?

(Spoiler Alert: Read at Your Own Risk!)

He’s definitely choking. The boom box continues talking. His grandson hopes he enjoys the little surprise baked into the cake. His head drops face down, slamming against the table. He’s dead.

Three minutes, one scene, dark ending.

Director: Paco Torres

Country: Spain

Genre: Shorts

Run time: 3 minutes

Scale: 5

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