Recently I had the chance to watch two short films that both played on their use of language in different ways, and thought I might group them together for a post. There’s nothing better than a short film that is entirely surprising in the way it handles its communication of story and ideas, and these two are no exception.

This Is It (2014)
Alexander Engel, 3 minutes

A super quick and quirky short film with a lot of nostalgia and linguistic precision, This Is It is not to be confused with the Michael Jackson documentary of the same name. This Is It tells a story of two friends (David Gelles and Mike Steinmetz) who move into a tiny apartment, meet girlfriends, eat each others’ food from the fridge, try to save their houseplant from dying, and ponder their own existence – all through dialogue in the form of questions and statements. The cutting is short and sharp, with the short film being made of numerous quick takes where each character speaks a line. This very short film encapsulates the huge issues that one faces when sharing a house with a friend into a tiny format so efficiently and in such an entertaining manner. It’s funny and insightful without being too twee, which is a delicate balance. Definitely one to watch.

4/5
Watch this short film here!

Odile et Michel (2014)
Danny Sangra, 4 minutes

Odile et Michel is a French short film that tells the story of a young woman (Flore Bonaventura) who wants to find out why her boyfriend (Antoine Gouy) won’t speak with her anymore. I won’t spoil the rest of the story as it’s very surprising and strange, but it plays on the way foreign films use their own languages in a very unique and funny way. Odile et Michel is also shot beautifully. It just looks typically ‘French’, and has some very classy direction and cinematography in the face of its strange story. I loved this because I haven’t seen anything like it before – a film so meta that its self-referential nature actually adds to the development of the story rather than merely reflects upon it.

4.5/5
Watch this short film here!