I'm not sure if I was supposed to be amazed by the movies, but I wasn't. It made me appreciate full budget movies and not complain about the prices because I realize that it takes a lot of money to get a good outcome. I was impressed that Kim Rhodes was in one of them and it was probably the best one of all because she is a professional actress and knows what she is doing. Even though they weren't perfect, they held a lot of meaning and I took away a lot from most of them. I just hope that the full length movies were worth while for those who went to see them.
I'm going to do my review on the first short, "The Death of Toys," and the last short "Stained."
"The Death of Toys"
This film is about a single mom, who lost her husband and is raising her son. She is struggling with him growing up too fast and she tries to become like a kid again and get him to play with his toys. In the end she has to let go and let him get rid of his toys and she also has to let go of her husband so she can move on. This movie struck a chord with me personally because the mom has flashbacks of the dad who has obviously died. Having lost my Fiancée a year ago I can relate and it made me connect with this character at a much deeper level than most. I could feel her pain as she lay there alone in her bed, imagining that he was still there beside her. This can be generalized to other viewers by the loss of a loved one because it's happened to almost everyone, not always as close as this and I believe it is the hardest, but we all know the feeling at some level.
The editing was interesting because it kept changing the mom from a little girl back and forth to an adult to show the level she was trying to get at with her son. There seemed to be a lot of screen shots, which is always good. I found this movie to be the best one production and acting wise. The only weakness it has was the type of camera used made it feel a little like a "homemade" movie. The tole of the son did a pretty good job and I'm sure he got plenty of tips from Kim, who was superb as always. I think the roles were cast perfectly, we've seen Kim as a mom and she does this role excellently. The performances were completely credible and something I would recommend others to see. I think this film would fit into the genre of a family drama, it reminds me the movie Fluke because they both carry a lot of emotional moments, but at the same time can make you smile. I think this genre is popular today because people need an opportunity to cry. We go about our lives and hold in everything that bothers us. We need something that will allow us to let it all out, and these movies are one of those outlets. I think this movie represents single parents and the struggles they go through raising their kids, because it shows how hard it is for the mom to juggle her job, her son and her reoccurring memories. This movie just showed that even though single parents struggle, they do their best and they try so hard and in the end it will pay off because they raised a great kid.
"Stained"
This movie is about a pastor in New York who's son has been missing. While he is dealing with this an elderly lady comes into the church on Christmas Eve and see him holding a blanket with a blood stain on it. She is struck and starts to weep. This is a blanket she made and she tells him the story of how her and her husband were hiding Jews during WWII in Germany and the Nazi's killed her husband. They talk and she tries to help the Pastor build his faith about his son. The next day during his Christmas service a man is staring at the same blanket that was put on the wall and he is also weeping. He sits down with the man and he tells him, that is the blanket his wife made and that the Nazi's shot him and took his wife and children away and he never saw them again. At this point the Pastor knows God is working in the situation. He sends the man to the lady's house and they are reunited. This event restores the Pastor's faith and he trusts God again for the life of his son.
This struck me because I try my best to have faith that God is going to bring me out of my situation better than I am now. I think I feel his pain from losing his son, thought it's different than losing a husband, as the elderly lady shows him. He seems to find compassion for her, when he can't even find compassion for his own wife, who is also hurting. I think again this could be generalized as the lost of a loved one, but also keeping the faith about God having a plan to fix it. The music throughout the movie seemed very fitting because it drew you into what was going on. This was definitely one of it's strengths. I feel that the camera was again a weakness for this movie as well.
There was only three major roles. The Pastor, the husband and the wife and they all did really good for being actors I've never seen before. I think they were cast perfectly, especially those with an accent. I found the plot not so much original, but very compelling. It is the love story everyone wants to be a part of, the one God has his hand in. I think this showed the main idea of the movie, which was to have faith in God and he will bring you everything you need. The blanket in the movie has a scripture sewn into it, and it is actually one of my favorite. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 I think this scripture sums up the entire theme of the movie.
This film would fit right in with a drama, inspirational or love story, but not only the love of a reunited husband and wife, but the love of God. I think this film serves to represent the average person in life, who struggles to keep their faith in God when their lives or situation seems out of control. Though God will always bring you right back to where you belong. I think this was an important movie, especially in our current culture that is falling farther and farther away from God, I think this was trying to bring us back to where we need to be.
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