NO TRAILER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
WATCH THE FILM HERE with all proceeds going to the filmmakers!
First, the Recap:
When does it no longer matter? Would we ever reach a time where due to some catastrophic event, the entire idea of what it is to be human gets lost in the haze of despair and wayward thinking? It’s not easy to fathom things reaching such a juncture. But, if it did, would we be smart enough to maintain our sense of being, or would we let it slide away amidst panic and irrational choices? Three years have passed since a worldwide pandemic eradicated much of the Earth’s population, on top of which there now exists the worst winter season on record. There are those who have become nothing but numbers, drones, workers whose job it is to collect the dead while the elite remain inside. In the middle of this ongoing tragedy, one woman (Angela Al Souliman) will rediscover her heart and soul.
Next, my Mind:
What an eerily timely relevance this 15-minute short film by writer/director/producer Dries Vergauwe, which screened at the 2020 Berlin Revolution Film Festival, holds in the current age of COVID 19 spanning the globe and causing fear, panic, and a questioning of the unknown. While our crisis is nowhere NEAR the extremes in scope and lethality that this narrative’s intent and direction involving an unspoken outbreak and its ramifications delivers, it still speaks strongly to the grander notions and atmosphere of today’s dilemma. Hopefully, though, there won’t be a buying into an air of unnecessary hysteria, but rather build a foundation of more prudent, logical caution.
Here for this film’s purposes, the worldwide calamity as seen from the perspective of one specific area heavily impacted and those who are tasked with the utterly thankless job of going out and collecting anyone who passes away, it tells a tale that could be steeped in societal class oppression, just in a different form, though the concept of the rich survive while the poor have to take their chances still rings out as an all-to-common denominator in the events depicted. However, the story takes a stirring turn upon following one such “dead collector” who happens upon a recording while doing her job that radically changes and impacts her in a way not expected. Then, from how the film wraps up, it proves vitally needed and leaves the viewer to ponder via conjecture what might happen afterwards.
It very much strikes home when you see just how powerfully it drives home the point that there can always be hope during hopelessness and a desire to re-connect with those we love even when separated by foolish decisions. In this effort, though, that idea is taken in a different direction that has no less impact and meaning, maintaining the principal of it, but making sure that we more than understand the gravity and emotional punch its intended to present, which it does with astute effectiveness. Likewise, it ends up greatly emphasizing the film title’s significance when realizing how things expressed within these moments the “dead collector” is experiencing at the film’s conclusion are so often words and thoughts utilized by many. Watch and find out for yourself based on the definition of “trope”.
Souliman, who becomes another actor associated with a film where there is almost no direct spoken dialogue, carries her role with poise and grace as the woman, a survivor of these many years yet still relegated among the “lower class” as one of the collectors of the dead. Seeing what her life is like when not out amidst the carnage is no less inspiring, having been assigned a number instead of being called by name and treated with that aforementioned “worker bee” mentality, which is clearly numbing to the core as a person. Watching, without even seeing it directly, her reaction to what she hears while out on a “mission” is excellently delivered via emotive body language and subsequent extrapolation from there, and Souliman pulls it off superbly and with the desired effect. Wonderfully done overall, a credit to her acting.
Additional primary and supporting turns are made real from Ryan Sisson, Moudane Mahdieh, Tiebo Samaille, Debby de Winter, Broos Goossens, Pegah Moeman Attare, and Antonio Guadamus-Fernandez. Therefore, in total, “Popular Tropes” teaches us a highly valuable lesson in how we must remain human, connected to each other and the affecting bonds we should share, and NEVER forget those we love. It’s what I always love about indie cinema, the grounded and relatable core of the stories told and how they can ideally make us think and change us for the better.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
