Cinema Verdict Review: Smoke

Smoke (Dym)

RUN TIME: 8 min

ACCOMPLICES:
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The Charge
The story of the person who became the captive of surrealistic madness.

Opening Statement
A short film from Poland brings your daily fill of beautiful art.

Facts of the Case
Filming a short takes a different mentality then filming a feature length film. It is where most filmmakers cut their teeth before they take on a longer, more difficult, project. It is typically supposed to be easier, mainly because you have less to film, but it can also be harder because you have less time to say what you’d like. That is, unless, you have nothing to say; then you have all the time in the world.

The short Smoke is 8 minutes long, written (although using the verb “written” in conjuction with this short is debatable) and directed by Grzegorz Cisiecki in his debut outing. It is “the story of the person who became the captive of surrealistic madness,” or so it says on its IMDB page. That it is a “story” is also a point of contention for me.

The Evidence
Honestly I am not completely the right guy to be reviewing this short. (You can read my ravings on art-for-art’s-sake which is what I consider this short to be, here: Wild Grass.) I am not the target audience for it. However, being a filmmaker myself, or at least one that dabbles in the cinematic arts, I answered the call to review Cisiecki’s short. First the good, and there is quite a lot that is good about this work. The photography is beautiful thanks I’m sure in no small part to cinematographer Dawid Rymar. Lighting is masterful, subjects are framed beautifully and the titular smoke is used to dramatic effect. The trifecta of postproduction work–editing, sound design and score–are also great and show promise for future endeavors. The directing is assured and precise; it truly felt like Grzegorz knew exactly what he wanted and his crew knew how to capture it. If only they had used their powers for good….

Finally, the bad and, really, what is bad is only one thing–the short is wasted time and film because it is either trying to say something by saying nothing or it is saying nothing and hoping that you can infer some deeper meaning because of it. Now you may look down on me and my bourgeois mentality and need to have a more traditional storyline; in fact, you may think I need to have things spelled out for me. Sometimes I do, it’s true, I’ll admit it. Sometimes though, I feel that artists hide behind the guise of art so they won’t have to put any serious thought or work into drives and motives and story arcs, sculpting characters who live and breathe beyond their pens and pages; that they can use madness and dream logic as an excuse not to have reason or comprehention. They feel they can let their pretty pictures speak for themselves. But it’s not that simple.

Closing Statement
To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, “If I know how to film in dutch angles and can choose the proper film speed with which to capture the image, but have not good story structure, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

The Verdict
6/10

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