NO TRAILER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
First, the Recap:
Demonstrative recourse through adamant protestation. Sounds overly dramatic, right? Yet, when we are choosing to stand firm in support of a specific viewpoint or cause, is this not the ultimate position we might find ourselves in? To be resolute for what we believe is an admirable, noteworthy thing, assuming along the way we DON’T take it all TOO far to a level that would end up in damaging altercations, whether verbally or physically. Still, looking at a particular subject, let’s say animals, through the eyes of a valid, challenging, and necessary lens can cause us to take a look at ourselves, and the world, in a different light and end up potentially having to conclude after all is said and done–“Who IS the real animal??”
Next, my Mind:
It’s a question that writer/director/editor Tommy Becker felt needed asking and he therefore posed the question through the medium of indie short film via this four minute twenty-five second effort screened at the 2020 Berlin Revolution Film Festival. Make no mistake that despite it abbreviated runtime, the thematic intent this film carries is done with a pull-no-punches, in-your-face, impact minds and influence change-based intensity and execution that more than decidedly gets its point across through a mix of imagery and musical highlights that is both darkly humorous yet strikingly compelling in its message.
Beginning right off the bat with a rousing yet purposefully harsh, driving anthemic war chant as its foundation, the film rages through pictures and video clips of animals in agony, some construed as crying out for vengeance I’m almost certain, while also depicting another form of animal as well–human beings–ones in particular that are very much villains that would be called animals. The word echoes through the chant as the odd mix of then playful allure in certain moments gets followed up by further illustrations of the machines of chaos we as people put out into the world that detrimentally affect the natural order, all culminating into the all-too-real actuality of our harmful influence.
Just as suddenly, though, the film takes an entirely different track, changing up both its musical background and the tone and manner of the story, engaging us with a much more light-hearted and, dare I say, straight up whimsical aura involving a human hand and a song about a little kitten. It doesn’t take too long for the project to then revert back to its original format, once again a concentration on the silly and the saddening. The thing about all of this is that it IS very, very effective in getting its substance out into the viewer’s minds, and whether you think this is extreme, well, thinking or not, there’s no avoiding the realities it represents and call to action it is soliciting throughout. And wait through the film’s brief credits, as THE final moment of the film is such a hilariously apropos exclamation point!
When it comes to this style of film, all I ever ask is that it doesn’t end up coming through as overtly preachy or pushy in its arguments, and I felt that neither of those barriers is breached here. Plus, there’s a difference between that kind of objective vs. being confronted with elements or truths you simply might not want to have to admit ARE truths, and I get the impression that is also what reaction this film will prompt, which is not a bad thing at all. We need to be more aware of principals that impact our world, and if it takes a little conviction in the heart, mind, and soul via tough love as it were to remind us of that, I say “Bravo!!” to filmmakers willing to take that path, since visual means like this are a superb way to communicate ideas such as this.
So, in total, “Song For The Fate Of Animals” is a bold, sometimes funny declaration of war on all the existing concepts of what animals actually are, how we see and treat them, and how our own actions as human beings really will continue to beg the questions posed above, with a fervent need for an answer to be discovered so we might take better steps to improve not just their world and experiences, but our own.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
Permalink