Kritiken

Wherever you are... you will recognise and connect with these lightly yet carefully drawn characters; and if you have experienced grief, you will empathise with the depiction of a need for reunification not just with others but with oneself.

On the one hand, it’s an attempt to engage with the uniquely American horror of school shootings through the story of parents left alone with their loss; on the other, it’s shamelessly manipulative and blatantly obvious in its storytelling, as if it doesn’t trust the viewer to get its fairly obvious message.

The silent film effectively captures the characters’ emotions, but what moves the audience besides the touching story, are the minimalistic visuals where the characters’ shadows are used in place of dialogues, and King Princess’ single 1950 that plays at a pivotal moment in the film: all the right ingredients for a tear-jerker.

McCormack and Govier’s animated short feels like a prayer, but to elaborate on that might mean spoiling part of the experience of watching the film, which builds beautifully to its central premise instead of laying it all out at the start... There are layers of grief and anger within the frames of this otherwise beautiful dream/nightmare. And yes, keep the tissues handy.