REVIEWS – ‘The Black Balloon’ & ‘Invisible Dinner’ (ASSIGNMENT 1)

SHORT 1: ‘The Black Balloon”

Directed by: Josh & Benny Safdie

Running Time: 21 minutes

Link: https://vimeo.com/42814986

I found ‘The Black Balloon’ a few months ago when researching the Safdie brothers, who directed what was my favourite film of last year ‘Good Time’. I searched for their earlier work and found this wonderful 20 minute film online. Set in New York City, like most of their work, it follows a silent yet seemingly conscious black balloon that’s been separated from it’s colourful former companions. The balloon accompanies various characters throughout the city. We are flung into the hectic lives of these individuals, with no context at all, but the Safdie’s masterfully engage the audience with these character’s varying plights. These vignettes are artfully created in the Safdie’s trademark realist and expressive hand held cinematography style, with the film’s aesthetics changing as the pace of each story develops.

The soundtrack is very prominent in ‘The Black Balloon’, just as it is in ‘Good Time’, with a vibrant electronic piece playing over the opening credit sequence, and another more traditional acoustic piece playing throughout various moments in the remainder of the film. The juxtaposition of the artificial synth sounds with the balloon flying into the sky in the opening is quite striking. Similarly, the cinematography style is very engaging and gives the stories and the people in it a jagged and believable edge. The use of practical effects throughout the film is also something I noticed and found quite inspiring for something possibly in my future work (eg. the balloon and how it floats perfectly next to each person).

What I find most engaging about this work is how it takes a seemingly supernatural and fantastical premise (a life-like balloon that seems to understand human behaviour and language and is looking for companionship), and inserts it into such a real and serious world without a hint of tension between the two elements. The slice of NYC portrayed by the Safdie’s is vibrant and brimming with life, and through a few short stories they’ve expressed the city’s struggles and excitement via an engaging and original idea (despite obvious inspiration from ‘The Red Balloon’).

SHORT 2: ‘Unbelievable Dinner’

Directed by: Josh McCary

Running Time: 3 minutes

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqZQ9KM_LjY

This is a short comedy piece created by the ‘Good Neighbor’ sketch comedy group. Several of their members are now featured on Saturday Night Live, and recently made their first feature ‘Brigsby Bear’. This is one of their early sketches from 2008, and an example of a less experimental but still interesting example of short (very short) comedic filmmaking that can be realistically achieved with just a good idea and very little budget. The premise is a parody of overly sentimental hollywood children’s films, (eg. ‘Hook’, ‘Elf’) that preach ‘if you believe, it will be real’, except in this case it’s regarding a dinner that character Kyle has seemingly not made. The music is the most obvious cue to that inspiration, with it’s inspiring and uplifting aura very similar to that of aforementioned films.

The practical effect of having the food visible from some characters perspective yet not from others is super effective, and clearly communicates the premise to the audience in a funny way. Another element of its effectiveness is a level (or two) of irony surrounding the actor’s performances, dialogue, and the concept itself that means it appeals directly to a specific modern style of humour (see other videos by GoodNeighbor for more examples).

The premise is taken to another level when they start imagining ‘Super Nintedo stuff’ and a bikini babe, both which appear. The piece’s crescendo is when Nick, who at first doesn’t believe, hits Kyle over the head with an imaginary vase. The ridiculousness of the scene becomes the gag as Kyle sits bleeding on the ground and says “You’re believing, you’re believing, Nick.”